SOLDIER, First Class
by Venath
Summary: What if Zack survived? Due to a single phone call, the world of FFVII goes through some changes. Involves events and characters from Crisis Core and Before Crisis, so beware of spoilers. Zack/Cloud friendship.
1. Changes

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core, or any other part of the Compilation.

Pairings, for those who are interested, are probably going to be Zack/Aerith and Cloud/Tifa. Those are the only ones really I can really say for sure. Basically just a "what if" where Zack survives.

"Talking"

_Thoughts_

* * *

Leo Foran wasn't anyone special. He was just another aging, overweight man who picked up a couple of kids who looked like they could use a ride. He didn't have a fancy car, just some run of the mill yellow pickup truck that was decent enough to help him with his delivery business. But his brother was slightly different. His younger brother Neth was the pride of the family. The young, idealistic, athletic type. So Leo had been surprised when the kid joined the terrorist organization known as Avalanche. Of course, he supported their ideals and kept in contact with his brother, he just didn't have any way of aiding them other than making some deliveries once in a while.

It seemed he might have the chance to change that.

Suddenly, the young man with spiky black hair in the bed of the pickup was asking him something. "Hey old man, what do you think I'd be good at?"

"What're ya yappin' about? You're still young, ain't ya? Young folks should try everything! Go out and see what you really want."

The kid mumbled something again, before he started up again.

"Hey, that's it! I've got lots of skills that other guys don't! That settles it, I'm going to be a mercenary. Thanks pops!"

What? Where did that come from? "Did you listen to a word I said?"

"Listen, I'm going to be a mercenary and that's that. Boring stuff, dangerous stuff, anything that pays. I'm goinna be rich! How about you, Cloud?"

_Why wouldn't he know? Wasn't he taking care of the blond kid? What's wrong with him anyway? He hasn't said a word for miles. Wait a minute!_ "Hey, wait! You got it all wrong! I wasn't saying-"

"Just kidding Cloud. You know I wouldn't leave you hangin' like that. We're friends, right? Mercenaries Cloud, that's what you an' me are gonna be."

_Honestly, kids these days just don'__t listen to ya. Why'd he even ask__ me._ Suddenly he swerved to the side as he heard something hit the roof. _The '__ell was that? Sounded like a gun. Wait…The unif__orms those two are wearing! __SOLDIER!_

"Damn, it's Shinra! Hey pops, speed it up!"

Leo automatically followed the command, the "kid's" voice suddenly far more commanding than before. _Shinra…But aren't they SOLDIER? Why would Shinra be after 'em?_ After thinking for a moment, though not too clearly with bullets flying at him, something occured to him._ What if they...deserted?_ As he looked in the rear view mirror, he noticed a small object moving towards them from behind. "Helicopter." He breathed. _Wait…__SOLDIERS. SOLDIERS __fighting Shinra. Neth could use people like that wat__chin' '__is back._ The idea coming to him faster than he thought he could even come up with a plan, never having been the brightest of his family, he suddenly reached for the small cellular phone his parents had given him years ago before he moved out to join the delivery business. It was aged, but it should work well, close as they were getting to Midgar. Dialing Neth's number, slower than he would have liked, but unavoidable at the speed he was driving, he waited for the response.

"Ello?" His brother's strangely tired voice was a relief right now.

"Neth, this is Leo! I got a problem!"

"Can it wait?"

"Shinra! SOLDIER!" Another series of shots, this time much more wild. _Is he actually blocking bullets?_

Suddenly Neth's voice sounded completely awake "What?"

"Picked up two kids in SOLDIER outfits. Now I'm driving towards Midgar getting shot at by a buncha Shinra! Think they might be useful to ya" The black-haired kid was putting the sword on that weird thing that held it on his back.

"Where are you!"

"I'm on route thirty-nine. We're goin' west towards Midgar!" At least they'd stopped shooting.

"I'll talk to the boss. Just drop 'em and get outta there!"

"I'll take 'em a bit longer."

"Just don't try to be a hero." And suddenly his voice was gone.

_No worries there. I know I ain't a fighter._ "Hey, you kids okay back there?"

"Fine for now pops. Listen, just drop us off. You don't need to get involved in this."

"Just a little longer an' I'll drop you off."

"…Thanks old man."

"Name's Leo."

"Thanks, Leo."

* * *

They'd been driving for about an hour, with no sign of Shinra reappearing. That came to an end not too far from Midgar, on a nearby cliff overlooking the dreary city. There had been a blockade in the works, and he'd sneaked around the side while they were still busy. He hated what he was about to do, but if he tried to go any longer, he had no doubt they'd be targeting him too. _Sorry kid, but I got a life. I can't take ya any further. _"Hey kid, I-"

"Just drop us off here pops." _What?_ He voiced the thought a second later.

"You've taken us as farther than we should have asked. It's time for us to take it from here."

_Damn kid. How can he be so calm? There musta been a hundred of 'em out there._ The kid was pulled his quiet friend over his shoulder, and jumped off the back.

"I'm sorry." And he was.

"Don't worry about it. This fight was bound to happen eventually." He gave the kid a nod, then hit the gas, wanting to get away before the guilt got to him and he changed his mind.

_Good luck, kid._

* * *

Zack didn't hesitate getting off the truck. He would have expected the guy to drop them off as soon as the shooting started. Not everyone was cut out for the military after all. At least the man had done something. He'd heard him on the phone, saying something about Avalanche. Still, he knew his skills, knew his limits, and knew that he wasn't coming out of this one. He was SOLDIER, First Class, but he wasn't Sephiroth. He couldn't go up against that much firepower with nothing but a sword and hope to come out of it in one piece. So as he sat Cloud down against the nearby rocks, he couldn't give him any encouraging words. The only thing he could do was hope that his friend stayed safe during the fight, and got over his Mako Poisoning soon enough to get himself somewhere safe.

_Well, time to go._

Not looking back at his friend, he stepped out from behind his cover, and started walking towards the soldiers collecting on the various outcroppings of rocks. As one of them noticed him, raising his rifle in preparation, the others quickly followed, three helicopters circling the area for support.

"Heh. Man," he shook his head, "Freedom sure is pricey, isn't it?"

At their silence, he began to draw the Buster Sword. "Tough crowd, eh?"

Placing the Buster Sword in front of him, and lowering his forehead to the side of the blade in both a quick salute and a personal method of calming his nerves, he took a moment to attempt to draw strength from what he'd learned from his mentor Angeal, and the ex-SOLDIER, Genesis. He knew it wasn't likely, but he hoped Cloud heard the message as well.

"Never lose your dreams. Also, no matter the situation, never let go of your pride as a SOLDIER." Flipping his sword around to a combat position, he charged towards his enemies, releasing a cry of challenge as his shocked opponents attempted to react. Apparently, they hadn't expected a head on charge from someone so limited on options.

And as heard the deafening roar from above him, as he saw one of the helicopters explode into flames from the corner of his eye, and crash down onto the soldiers to his left, he couldn't help but wonder if there really was someone up there, Angeal perhaps, who was watching over him.

It seemed that Avalanche wasn't in so much trouble that they couldn't spare a little manpower.

* * *

Any reviews are appreciated. Praise, criticism, flames, anything. I know there have been "Zack Survival" stories before, but I haven't read many, so I hope that it's not too cliche. 


	2. Avalanche

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core, or any other part of the Compilation.

AN: I feel I have to say that while there are CC/BC spoilers, some minor events/dialogues may be changed for the sake of the story. But hey, that's why it's fanfiction. Anyway, thanks for the reviews. Always nice when someone's interested.

"Talking"

_Thoughts_

_Flashback_

_**Flashback**__** thoughts**_

* * *

It wasn't exactly the Wutai War, but chaos was certainly an accurate description of the scene taking place on a certain cliff overlooking the city of Midgar. Avalanche hadn't been able to send their full military might, but that wasn't exactly a problem. He just needed something to keep the Shinra military from putting its full focus on him, and Avalanche was more than enough of a distraction.

Taking advantage of his enemy's confusion, Zack hurled himself at the unfortunate soldiers assigned to the mission of killing a First Class SOLDIER. Slamming one of the poor men with the flat side of the Buster Sword hard enough to send him careening into his comrades, he ducked, dodged, and flipped his way through the enemy ranks in a dance of destruction. Most of his opponents, making the unfortunate mistake of wielding larger automatic rifles only suited for long range combat against average enemies, were barely able to respond, lest they catch their friends and allies in the crossfire.

As the SOLDIER was wreaking havoc in the center of the battlefield, Avalanche was handling the fringes of the battlefield. At first, upon seeing the SOLDIER uniform, they had been hesitant to engage. Especially considering that it would have been simpler to let their former enemy thin Shinra's ranks and pick off the remnants, now that the more organized military had lost the advantage of air support. The first helicopter had taken a makeshift rocket that Avalanche used for single-shot surprise attacks, while the second had gone down in a hail of gunfire from the single helicopter their branch of the resistance had been able to spare, shortly before beginning an alternating chase across the desert, now far out of sight.

However, they'd quickly realized that the "wait and see" policy wasn't going to hold. As the black-haired man jumped into the center of the action, a number of soldiers had decided they stood much better odds against the terrorists that, while recognized as dangerous, weren't recognized as the nearly demonic combatants that SOLDIERS were. So while some had remained behind to continue covering the battle from a distance, many had chosen to enter the field and engage their enemies head-on.

In all the chaos, nobody took notice of the lone Shinra grunt making his way around the side of the battlefield, to a higher, less noticeable position. A position that could work well for a sniper.

* * *

As the battle raged only a short distance away, a young man with blond hair remained propped against a large boulder, making no movements besides the occasional turn of his head, as if in an attempt to view the massacre happening just a matter of yards away. This changed as the stone beside him seemed to explode throwing him to the side, the result of a stray grenade. While somewhat dazed by the pain, though only slightly more than his hazy mind had been before, deep in his mind he was pleased that he could at least see what was happening.

And it was a good thing too, as it allowed him to see the man in the familiar Shinra uniform taking a position not too far in front of him, to the left. It also gave him the opportunity to see the man hastily making a few modifications to his rifle, taking a scope out of a small pack on his right leg.

Suddenly, his mind was a flurry of activity, memories of the last few weeks being triggered by something he didn't recognize.

_A hand on his shoulder, a friendly voice "So, you __wanna__ be in SOLDIER? Hang in there." _

_The same __voice again, a kind face grinning__ down at him. __"__Just kidding Cloud.__ You know I wouldn't leave you __hangin__' like that." _

_The man, his friend, holding the massive sword in front of him, a relaxed and appreciative expression on his face.__ "This here's a symbol of dreams and pride. I almost lost sight of that. Thanks, Cloud." _

_The face, the voice, all flashing in his mind over and over in a split second, similar scenarios repeating in his mind._

_"You're laughing, aren't you? Do you even know about __Gongaga__?"_

_"Hey, relax Tseng. With me and Cloud around, there's nothing to be scared of!"_

_"Good work Cloud!"_

_"Never lose your dreams." _

_"Mercenaries Cloud, that's what you an' me are __gonna__ be." _

_The face, smiling down at him again._

_"We're friends, right?"_

_Zack Fair. __His friend, walking off to die. __For him._

Suddenly there was something he couldn't quite name. An anger, a desperation to protect something that he hadn't felt in several years. Forcing himself to move, he began dragging himself forward, eyes suddenly coming into focus. Grabbing a small edge of the boulder and hauling himself up, bringing a fist sized stone on the way, he broke into a run, stumbling at first, and soon picking up speed.

* * *

Dario Kel was one of the best shots in his unit, but he wasn't a melee specialist. So as soon as their target had broken their ranks, forcing them into close quarters combat, he had begun searching for a place where he could get an uninterrupted shot. He'd easily found a small series of natural stone walls, and made his way around. When he'd first arrived, there'd been an explosion, but the only thing nearby was the body of a young blond man, motionless on the ground.

_Must'__ve been caught in the blast._

As he began adding the portable long barrel and scope modifications, which all of Shinra's snipers carried, to the standard Hydra model Shinra rifle, he glanced up to see how the rest of the soldiers were progressing.

They hadn't made much headway, he noted, as one of them was literally sent flipping through the air, landing in an unnatural position. _Couldn't have lived through that._

Bringing the rifle to his shoulder, he looked through the scope, hoping the target would leave himself open so they could finish this, and go home. Plus, being able to rub the fact that they had been the ones to bag the targets in the faces of those stuck-up Turks would make his day. Suddenly, the target paused, his sword being surrounded by some strange blue energy.

However, even as his finger began to tighten on the trigger, he heard something behind him. He couldn't place it as any animal he'd heard while on the job, but it was definitely animalistic. Turning to greet whatever it was with a few of the high-powered rounds used in the Hydra, he saw a sand-colored stone, and felt a sharp pain in his forehead, the world suddenly turning green. A few moments later, there was a feeling of peace, before the sensation of falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

Cloud stared at the bloodied rock in shock. He hadn't meant to hit the man that hard.

_How? Where'd that come from?_ And for the second time that day, the gaps in his memory began to fill in. Pictures, sounds, feelings, all flooding his mind so quickly that he couldn't keep up. Dropping the stone, he fell to his knees, grasping his head with some subconscious hope that it could stop him from feeling as if it was about to explode. Moments later, as the last of his memories returned, he fell into a mercifully painless sleep.

* * *

They'd been fighting for at least an hour before it was over. With the combined efforts of Avalanche and the renegade SOLDIER, Shinra's loss had been inevitable. However, they had enough numbers to keep the battle running for a significant amount of time, and there had still been enough to organize a "strategic withdrawal," as they would later report it to President Shinra.

With Shinra gone, and Avalanche tending to their wounded, Zack moved to gather Cloud. Naturally, for a moment, he was terrified when he saw his younger friend unmoving next to a Shinra soldier's body. He couldn't even explain his relief in words when he'd found that he'd just been unconscious. And apparently, over the worst of his Mako poisoning, if the soldier's state was any indication.

While he was checking over his friend for any other injuries, the man who appeared to be in charge of his "backup" had come over. His deep voice seeming, to Zack's surprise, genuinely concerned.

"Is the kid alright?"

Leaning Cloud back up against the stones, he decided it couldn't hurt to respond. They'd likely saved his life, after all. "He's fine. Just unconscious. Thanks for your help, mister…?"

"Sears," he offered, holding out his hand. "And you're welcome. An enemy of Shinra's is a friend of ours. What'd you do? Must've been big, if they were this desperate."

Zack grinned at the semi-compliment. "Hey, we just broke out of a lab. I don't like being cooped up so much." _That's definitely true. It's no wonder __Angeal__ always called me a puppy._ "So, you guys don't seem to have gotten any less efficient since the last time I saw you."

" Things have been…Hectic, recently. A shift in management, of sorts."

They stood in companionable silence for a moment, overseeing the former battlefield. But Shinra wouldn't be in retreat forever.

"Hey, thanks for the help man, but we should probably get movin' y'know? With Shinra after us, and all."

"I don't suppose you'd like to join us? We could use an ex-SOLDIER."

"Sorry Sears, much as I'd love to see Shinra getting a little payback, I've gotta watch over this guy," tilting his head towards Cloud, he continued "Plus, I've got a girl I need to see about a letter."

"Ah. Well, would you at least like a ride? We only had one chopper, but a couple of trucks arrived during the fight. It wouldn't be any trouble."

"A ride would actually be pretty nice." Sears gave him a small grin, and turned to inform his men of the situation. As he walked away, Cloud began to stir.

"Za…Zack. Zack?" _Guess he's not completely over it. Maybe he's just tired._ Turning to the man, he put an arm around his waist, and hoisted Cloud's arm over his shoulders, before making his way towards the waving Sears.

"Heya buddy," he began cheerfully. "How ya doin' there?"

"Tired." Zack figured that much. Cloud started again "Alright?"

_Am I alright?_ "I'm great. Healthy as ever." _Yeah…I think I am._

"Good." And suddenly he was out of it again. As Zack sat him down in the front seat of the blue pickup Sears had ordered to take them into the city, and sat down beside him, he leaned back and closed his eyes, happy to finally relax. _I'm coming, __Aerith__. Just wait a little longer._

With that thought, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Within the hour, Zack's eyes opened as the truck came to a stop.

"Hey pal, sorry about this, but the other sectors near here were closed. Had to drop you off in Sector Seven."

_Close enough. I'm a SOLDIER. Not like I can't walk._

"Thanks. And hey, if you run into that guy that drove us here, tell him I owe him one. Name was Leo."

"Will do. Good luck."

As he lifted Cloud's arm over his shoulder again, heading for the closest building he could find to ask for an inn, he couldn't ignore the nagging feeling that he still had a lot of work ahead of him.

* * *

Well, that's chapter two then. Hope it was okay. Kinda hard not to play the "new to fanfiction" card when you're new to fanfiction. Anyway, I'd appreciate any reviews.


	3. Mercenaries

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.

AN: Thanks for the reviews, all. 

"Talking"

_Thoughts_

* * *

It hadn't been hard to find an "inn" of sorts. He didn't have much money on him. Being on the run for nearly a year had a way of thinning one's wallet, and even then most of his money had come from what he'd nicked from the lab and various soldiers who were unfortunate enough to get in his way. But they were in the slums, so it wasn't exactly necessary for him to be rich. He'd managed to haggle a couple hundred gil from the weapon shop under the "inn" in exchange for the armor on the SOLDIER uniforms they'd been sporting and the few remaining items he'd stolen, so they would at least have a place to stay for a few days, depending on how well they planned to eat.

He would have already gone to Aerith's by now, if not for their situation. Cloud still wasn't in the greatest shape. If Shinra had still been after them, he might have simply tossed Cloud over his shoulder and made a run for it, only stopping by long enough to talk things out with Aerith. But since they'd probably be safe in the slums for a while, especially after Shinra's most recent failed attempt at capturing them, he was sure they could spare a few days for Cloud to recover.

_I'm pretty tired myself._ For now, he was going to check the few shops around the sector. _Maybe they'll have something that'll help Cloud get back on his feet_

The shop on the first floor of the inn definitely didn't have anything. It was mostly weapons, and he didn't have the gil for that right now. Besides, even if he had the money, the Buster Sword was all he needed, and Cloud…Well, Cloud could still barely walk on his own. He probably wouldn't be throwing people around any time soon.

So that left how many shops? Four? Three? He wasn't too familiar with any of the slums besides Sector Five, and it could be hard to tell if the buildings were "shops" or simply homes.

_Oh well. __Might as well go with the guess 'n check method.__ I'm sure they'd understand the mistake._

Poking his head through the door in the first building he saw, he quickly decided that it probably wasn't a shop. Just a bunch of people standing on boxes beating each other up. _Odd. _The second building had much more potential. At least it looked like a shop, with the slightly portly man sporting a large beard standing behind a counter, various bottles and boxes lined up around the walls. Stepping a little further in, he decided to speak up.

"Heya."

"Hello young fella. Lookin' to shop?"

_Now we're talking._ "Yeah, got a friend, might need some medicine."

"Well if yer lookin' for meds, ya came to the right place."

Grinning and scratching the back of his head, he started looking around for something that might be useful. _I wonder if everyone in this sector is that friendly. They certainly weren't all like that in Sector Five._

Grabbing one of the vials, he let out a small sigh as he heard someone else enter the store. Most people these days only carried Potions and Ethers. The fact that they were designed by Shinra didn't bother him, but they couldn't be good for Cloud in his current state. He didn't need the enhanced healing effects of the Potion, and Ethers were made with small traces of Mako, to increase a person's ability to regenerate their natural Mako stores. Spirit Energy, as those studying Planet Life called it. With Cloud still suffering from the effects of Mako poisoning…"Hey, you have any of the older stuff? Y'know, the stuff without Shinra's Mako enhancers? I need something to give a friend of mine a little energy."

"I've prolly got somethin' around here. But usin' an Ether'd be faster. Ain't you in SOLDIER? I know those uniforms when I see 'em."

"Yeah, I was in SOLDIER. But after the war, me an' a buddy of mine weren't as happy about following Shinra's orders as we were before. It wasn't till just recently that we left, though." He paused as the man nodded in understanding, still looking around behind the counter. He didn't look like SOLDIER, but he might have been in Shinra's military once. If he was in the war, he'd know where Zack was coming from, even if his story wasn't completely true.

As yet another man opened the door, this time dressed in the red uniform of a captain in the Shinra Military Police division, he continued his story, hoping he wouldn't be recognized.

"Anyway, problem is, we were on the way to say hi to a friend of mine near here when my buddy had a little accident with a Mako leak. Since he's not in SOLDIER, well…I figured giving him something with Mako in it couldn't be a good idea."

Suddenly, the captain cut in. "Sorry to hear about that. A friend of mine got Mako Poisoning once. Not a pretty sight." Apparently the Slummies, the unofficial nickname for the soldiers assigned to keeping order in the slums, hadn't gotten any kind of visual identifiers on him or Cloud yet. Assuming they heard about the escapees at all. Shinra had never really given the Slummies a steady flow of accurate information.

"Yeah. Thankfully it's not too bad."

The owner had apparently found what he was looking for, as he took a second to straighten himself and put a small box on the counter. "This here's a bit old, but it should still work. Got some of the stuff back in Wutai. Not useful then, what with us having potions an' all, but I figured it mighta come in handy later. Some kinda energy pills. That'll be twenty gil."

As Zack pulled out the money, he couldn't resist asking. "Shouldn't it be more than that? I mean, bein' from Wutai and all?" _Most people would charge an arm and a leg._

The Captain answered for him. "Ol' Ranny here always charges us soldiers less for medicine, and we always make sure nobody gives 'im trouble. Active or not, we soldiers gotta look out for each other around here." Zack grinned at him for that. They weren't enemies, really. Just on opposite sides. It wasn't personal. Sometimes he had to forget that they were just people, like him. Sometimes it was the only way he could fight them.

_Huh? Wasn't there someone else in here?_ He glanced around for a moment, noting the young man in a slightly tattered green shirt looking over the potions on the wall to his left. Mid-to-late twenties, he'd guess. A little thin, slightly shaggy black hair. He seemed…Attentive. _He's probably listening._

"Thanks, partner. Don't suppose either of you happen to know anybody with some work? Now that I'm out of Shinra, I'm also out of a job." Both men responded with a negative, before the man looking at the potions spoke up, slightly hesitant. "I, uh, I might know a place with a job open."

"Really?" _I didn't honestly think anyone would have a job ready out here._

* * *

Biggs had been listening in on the "Ex-SOLDIER's" conversation. He was hesitant to speak up, the man was former Shinra, and he seemed to be getting along fine with Captain Reed. But that didn't really mean much. Reed was a pretty decent guy, after all. It was the big guys upstairs at Shinra that were the problem. But this could be a great chance to do something real for their cause.

"I, uh, I might know a place with a job open." The Ex-SOLDIER looked at him with a little surprise.

"Really?"

_Hope I'm not __makin__' a mistake here._ "Yeah. There's this bar here in Sector Seven. Might not pay like Shinra, but they could probably use a little more muscle."

"Somebody causin' trouble up at the Seventh Heaven?" the Captain spoke up, clearly interested. A lot of people in Sector Seven, soldiers especially, were pretty fond of the bar. It was an easy place to get away from things for a while. With the big, black "bouncer" there, not many people caused trouble up at the joint. Not only did troublemakers have to worry about Barret pummeling them into the ground, but there was also the threat of the large gun in place of his right hand.

"No, not that much. But havin' some extra muscle might put the stragglers who don't seem to get it off the idea of causing problems."

The Ex-SOLDIER looked thoughtful for a second, before answering. "I have some time before I have to get back to my buddy. Think it'll take long?" Grinning as Biggs shook his head, the man turned back to the older soldier, and former soldier, in the room. His grin was obvious in his tone.

"Well, I'll be seein' y'all around. Looks like I might have a job lined up."

* * *

Tifa Lockhart had woken up in a strangely good mood that morning. Her life in Sector Seven wasn't that bad, in fact she had it better than most, with the number of people who inhabited the bar throughout the day. Still…Things hadn't been going so great lately. Shinra had become more strict on its security policies, at least in the upper plate, so they could barely do anything to further the cause of removing Shinra from power, or at least taking the Mako Reactors offline.

Of course, the small rebel group she'd joined wasn't anywhere as threatening as the real Avalanche, but they should have been able to do something. They even had plans to take serious action, but now they were having difficulty just operating under Shinra's radar.

_I'm sure Jessie will think something up. She is a genius with security._ With that, she began preparing for the evening rush, wiping the various glasses and mugs down one more time. It wasn't that bad during the day, but business got crazy as the day started to end. There were customers practically lining up outside of the building, and that's when the jerks that tended to get a bit too friendly started to come out. They were never much trouble, as she and Barret could throw them out without so much as breaking a sweat, but it was still frustrating.

_No respect. How many teeth will I have to knock out before they get that "no touching" actually means no touching?_

Not to mention that, despite their activities as "Avalanche," she didn't like Marlene being exposed to that kind of behavior, or the violence that could come with it. Speaking of Marlene, "Sweetie?" a small face peeked over the top of the bar.

"Hm?"

"Could you go look outside and see if the others are back yet?" The girl nodded happily, clearly glad to have something to do. She was too young to help with any serious work at the bar besides adding little things to the meals or cleaning up some messes, but Tifa knew she loved to help out when she could. So as long as it didn't take her too far from her range of sight, Tifa gave her little jobs to keep her occupied.

And all of a sudden, the girl was running back into the bar, hiding behind Tifa's leg.

"What's wrong?"

"Biggs is back?" Tifa was a little worried at that. Why would she be so nervous if Biggs was just coming back? Marlene loved the little "family" that Avalanche gave her.

"Is he alright?" Marlene nodded silently. "So what's wrong?"

"He's got a strange man with him."

_Ah. __Got it._ It must have been someone in the military. Marlene only got nervous around people she didn't know when she was either being introduced, or when they were in uniform and carrying a weapon. Weapons weren't generally allowed in the Seventh Heaven, but Shinra's toops were an exception. They almost never caused trouble, but it was a good way to deter less pleasant customers from getting too out of hand.

"I'm sure he's fine if he's with Biggs."

"He had a big sword."

_Definitely a soldier then._ "A lot of soldiers carry swords, sweetie. You're not usually this scared when they're around."

Releasing Tifa for a moment and responded, holding her hands up in the air and spreading them as far as she could, apparently thinking that Tifa wasn't understanding her. "No, it was a really, really, really big sword."

As the door opened, she caught a piece of what Biggs was saying to the man with the "really, really, really big sword" behind him.

"Yeah, it's a great place. You'll love it. Hey Tifa," turning his attention from the man behind him, he cheerily continued. "I brought someone who might be able to give us a hand!"

As she looked up from Marlene, now reattached to her leg, her grip on the mug she'd been holding was suddenly gone. Staring into the man's equally surprised eyes, she ignored the look of confusion on her friend's face and the sound of the glass shattering as it hit the ground, all attention on the Ex-SOLDIER in front of her.

"Zack?"

"Tifa?" He suddenly seemed to regain his composure, his face breaking into a grin. "Hey, Tifa!"

* * *

AN: Well, there ya go. Hope it was enjoyable. As usual, any reviews are appreciated.


	4. Reunion

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.

AN: Just as an early warning, there might be times when it seems like I'm just "replacing" Cloud with Zack in parts of the story. If it does, I wouldn't worry too much, because it probably won't last. Just thought I should say it ahead of time, seeing as there will be some segments like that in Midgar.

P.S. - There's now a forum up where I'll be discussing the items and/or the story.

"Talking"

_Thoughts_

_-Flashback-_

* * *

When someone was supposed to have died nearly five years ago, you don't generally expect them to come walking through the door. Tifa Lockhart is no exception to that rule. As such, her reaction was perfectly understandable. In fact, most people would probably do a little more than simply drop a glass. But Tifa wasn't most people, and before fully registering what she was seeing, settled for a simple "Zack?"

"Tifa?" And as the grin reappeared on his face, a more cheerful "Hey, Tifa!"

Despite her surprise, she couldn't help but grin at the former SOLDIER when he started wildly waving at her as if she, Biggs, and Marlene weren't the only other people in the room. Biggs was just looking at him like he was crazy, while she could hear Marlene giggling as he half-jogged over to the bar, looking like he was about to leap over the counter at them. Looking a little more sheepish as he arrived at the bar, he glanced down at the broken glass.

"Uh, sorry about the glass. Guess I surprised you a bit there. I'll pay for it. Y'know, if ya want?"

Snapping out of it, she glanced around for the small wastebasket they kept around for this kind of thing. Broken glasses were hardly rare, especially with some of the evening crowd. "No, no. Don't worry about it." Pausing to wipe the glass into the pale, she tried to figure out how to ask where he'd been. _Well, nothing like the direct approach._ "So, where've you been the last few years? Last time I saw you, you seemed a bit…Dead." _So did Cloud. Could he still be alive?_ Honestly, she hadn't even been sure that any of the events in the Nibelheim Mako Reactor had really happened after Sephiroth had knocked her aside. She'd barely been conscious when Zack arrived, and was slipping in and out of consciousness when she thought she'd seen Cloud. She was partially convinced that her "knight in shining armor" appearing was all in her head.

Giving a quick laugh, he pointed a thumb at his chest, apparently knowing what she was thinking. "Oh c'mon. Me 'n Cloud are tougher than that. Ya really think Shinra or the General could keep us down?" Not a chance."

_So he was there._ "So Cloud, he's…?"

"Here with me? Yep. He was a little roughed up, but I think he'll be okay. He's a tough little guy. Even if he's actually caught by surprise, there's not a lotta people who can manhandle Sephiroth like he did back in Nibelheim."

"He did what? No, forget it. Where is he?" _Please._

"I've got him stashed in the top floor of the weapon shop over yonder. If you wanna see him, he's probably half asleep, but I'm sure he'd be glad to know ya checked up on him. C'mon."

* * *

As it was, Cloud wasn't half asleep. In fact, he couldn't have gone to sleep if he'd tried. Aside from the fact that he'd been on edge without Zack around, the kid that lived at the little inn, Ted, had been harassing him almost nonstop. Apparently he didn't have a lot of people to talk to his age, and adults weren't interested in what he had to say. So when Cloud, too tired to complain about the company, decided that he'd lend the kid an ear until he fell asleep, he had no idea what he'd just agreed to. Apparently, closing his eyes and pretending to be asleep hadn't gotten the message across that he wasn't interested in hearing, for the hundredth time in nearly an hour, every reason why the Midgar Mauler was a better chocobo racer than the Branora Bandit.

_Where did Zack go? He's been gone a while._

Almost as soon as the thought had crossed his mind, the door opened, and was soon followed by the familiar voice of said hyperactive ex-SOLDIER.

"Hey buddy, guess who I ran into? Check it out!"

Opening his eyes and rolling his head to the side to see what his friend was so excited about, his breath caught for a moment. _Tifa?_ She started forward slightly, but hesitated, shifting nervously. "Cloud…"

Zack glanced back and forth between the two for a moment, and assumed they wanted to talk. Probably without him peering over their shoulders. "We'll just, uh, leave you two alone for now. C'mon kid." Ignoring the kid's protests, he hauled him up with one arm and picked up his pace a little as he headed for the door. Knocking the door shut behind him, he practically jumped down the stairs.

"Aw, come on! Why can't I stick around?"

"Mushy stuff.

"Gross. Why're grownups always doin' that kinda thing?"

"You'll get it when you're older."

"…So, you like chocobo races?"

_What could it hurt?_ "Yeah, sure. I'd say I'm a pretty big fan."

And so it began.

* * *

"Cloud…"

He shifted, pushing himself up to rest against the headboard. "Tifa?"

If there was ever a time to confirm it beyond a doubt, Tifa figured it was probably now. "You…Were in Nibelheim, weren't you? Five years ago?"

"…Yeah."

"Why didn't you say anything?" _I missed you._

_I failed._ "I couldn't. I never made it into SOLDIER. After all the things I said before I left, I just…I couldn't. Not after failing like that." He leaned forward, bringing his knees to his chest and closing his eyes. "I couldn't keep my promise. I'm sorry."

"You did keep your promise. You didn't fail at all." _How could he think that?_

"But I-"

"When I'm in trouble, my hero will come. That was what you promised. That when I was in a bind, you'd save me. Well," She spread her arms out as she continued. "I'm here, right?"

_But it wasn't me._ "Yeah, because Zangan saved you! I saw him before I passed out. It wasn't me."

"And what good would Master Zangan have been if you hadn't taken care of Sephiroth? You came when I was in trouble. Stop being so hard on yourself."

"But I," he stopped, considering her words "I…" _I didn't, I mean all did was…_His mind had been too hazy to think about much of anything when he had Mako Poisoning, and he'd been in and out of consciousness since coming out of it. He hadn't had time to really think about what had happened in Nibelheim. Or maybe he'd just been too ashamed of his failure to think about it. What had happened?

_I stabbed him in the back. But then what?_

_-"Don't press your luck kid!"-_

_I attacked him…He just tossed me aside. _

_-There was pain, he was being lifted in the air, his chest was on fire. _

"_You're out of your league. You should have just stepped aside. I won't be so merciful this time."-_

He remembered that. It was almost too painful to forget._ But after that…_

_-It was rage. Rage, sorrow, desperation, despair, all rolled into one feeling, one moment. As he grabbed the sword, pulling himself further onto the blade to get a better footing, Sephiroth's eyes went wide, trying to rip his sword free from the unrelenting grasp._

_Then he'd yelled. An angered cry that he'd felt again just recently, on the cliff overlooking Midgar.-_

But that wasn't what he was looking for. _Then Sephiroth…Said something. What did he say? _

_-Still hanging in the crushed wall, unable to move, Sephiroth looked into the teen's eyes, the cat-like irises meeting an unexpected Mako glow. He gave a slight show of surprise, as he seemed to notice. "Those eyes! Impossible…" Then he was calm again. "Hmph. Nothing will get in my way…"_

_Then as his eyelids began to droop, losing awareness of the world around him, his body fell away from the wall, down into the depths of the reactor.-_

He'd been the one to do it. He'd killed the General. He'd killed Sephiroth.

_Is she right? Did I keep my promise?_

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he glanced up at Tifa. Her smile still held a tint of sadness, but it was reassuring nonetheless.

_I need to sleep. Just a little longer._

"You look tired. Get some rest." As she sat on the bed next to him, he leaned into her, resting his head on her shoulder. "I'll be right here."

"Tifa…Thank you." _For everything._ She understood the message.

"Of course."

* * *

As Tifa was busy attempting to make Cloud see a little sense, the innkeeper and weapon seller on the floors below were realizing that they might need to start screening their customers. Or at least locking Ted in another room when other chocobo racing fans were nearby. They'd been at it for half an hour.

"I'm telling you, this 'Midgar Mauler' of yours doesn't have jack squat on the Gongaga Griffon! Absolutely. Jack. Squat." Face reddening, the kid returned the insults in kind.

"There's no way a big city racer like the Mauler would lose to some mangy bird from some little hick town in the middle of nowhere!"

"Oh, you did not just say what I think you said!" _Nobody insults Gongaga. Nobody!_

"Yeah, I said it! Whatcha gonna do about it old man!"

"Old man? I'll show you 'old man' you little punk!"

Now imagine the surprise on Biggs' face when he walked into the inn looking for Tifa several minutes later, only to find a young boy suspended from the ceiling by his feet, with a certain ex-SOLDIER demanding that he "take back those blasphemous lies" as the two old men who ran thejoint cackled from their respective counters.

"Is, um. Is Tifa here?" _I don't think she'd like people hanging kids on the roof by their feet…_

"Yeah, she's upstairs with that friend I told ya about. They know each other from way back, so they're prolly catchin' up."

"Oh. Well, we kind of needed to talk about that job offer. We're getting' a bit rushed. Plus, we need to open the bar, but none of us can make a decent drink. Or a meal."

"I'll go drag 'em down."

"You really don't ne-" And he was gone, running up the stairs. Looking up at Ted, he noticed that the kid had started swinging himself around in an attempt to get loose. _I thought there was a breeze._

"Should we, I dunno, let him down?" Surely they wouldn't just leave him there.

The old innkeeper spoke up first. "Nah, he needs a lesson in manners."

"Yeah, just leave 'im for a little while."

"Allllrighty then." _Place gets stranger every day._

Cloud had woken up just a few minutes earlier when there was a knock on the door. It opened slightly, and the top of Zack's head poked through the opening.

"Hey, you kids decent in here?"

"Come on in, Zack. We were about to come down anyway."

_Aw, they weren't embarrassed. It always bugged me when my parents did that kind of thing. Or when Angeal did it. Or Kunsel. Or Tseng…Wait a minute, why do all my friends do that to me?_

"Biggs is here. Said he wanted to talk about a job. Hey, about this job, how long is it gonna take? Cause I've got a girl I need to talk to. Like, really bad. As in 'I've left her without a word for five years' bad."

Cloud gave a small grin as Tifa smiled. They didn't know Zack's girlfriend, though Cloud had heard about her, but they imagined Zack was pretty anxious to see her.

"It shouldn't take long. A day or two at the most. And you should have a few days before we have to go." She walked by him, nudging his ribs with her elbow as she walked by. "Think that'd be enough time to go see this girl of yours?"

* * *

The rest of the evening had been relatively uneventful. Zack had enjoyed it enough. They'd stashed the Buster Sword upstairs, as to avoid any complications. He'd sat around the Seventh Heaven, had a few drinks, even played a couple games with Marlene when things were slow enough for her to get bored. Or when he got bored. Ah, who cared about the technicalities? Cloud seemed content just sitting at the bar and watching people. Biggs had gone off to another corner of the room to talk with his usual crowd.

However, the night had turned interesting several hours later when a large black man with a gun replacing his right arm kicked the doors open, and practically threw everyone out. Unlike Tifa, Biggs, and most of the bar crowd, Zack hadn't been expecting something like that had happened. Naturally, he'd just barely managed to keep himself from vaulting over the counter at the gunman out of habit. It helped that Marlene ran up and jumped into the man's arms. Once the bar had cleared out, save for himself, Cloud, Tifa, Biggs, the man with the gun-arm, and two people he didn't recognize, Tifa spoke up.

"Hey, Barret. How'd things go?" The man with the gun-arm turned to her, but didn't answer, nodding over towards him and Cloud. Biggs answered the unspoken question before Tifa had the chance.

"Don't worry, they're cool."

The man with the gun-arm, _Barret_, looked them over for a second. After a few moments, he let out a grunt and turned back to Tifa.

"I don't like the look of 'em. But if you say so. Let's go." The next thing he knew, Barret, Biggs, and two otherswere ridinga pinball machine down through the floor. A pinball machine. Through the floor.For a second, he was pretty certain Tifa had replaced his drinks with something stronger, just to mess with his head.

"Zack, Cloud. Come on."

Walking over to the seemingly normal pinball machine, they stood on the "platform" they'd seen the others stand on earlier.

"There's a button on the bottom. Go on down, I'll finish up here and be right down."

He felt around the underside of the machine for a moment before finding the button, and had to catch himself as the elevator started down. _I get the feeling I'm going to be more than a temporary bouncer._

The "basement" wasn't quite what he'd expected. It wasn't Shinra, but it was still relatively advanced. Or at least, the technological elements were. Various screens and hard drives were lining the corner to his right, the young woman that had come in with Barret busily typing away at something he couldn't make out. Biggs was casually leaning against a pool table, while Barret seemed to take out his anxiety on the already battered punching bag in the back of the room. The chubbier man that had come in with Barret was sitting on the other side of the room, tinkering witha small model plane that reminded him of the Gelnika.

Cloud immediately went to Biggs' side, hopping up on the edge of the pool table. Zack simply stood around for a few minutes, wondering if there was anything entertaining he could do that wouldn't interrupt what seemed to be a well practiced routine. He was about to comment on Wedge's model when the elevator started up again. Tifa hopped off, Marlene in tow, and hit the button sending the elevator back up.

"Sorry for the holdup. Let's get down to business."

_Maybe if you guys would actually tell me what this "business" is, we could._ "So, what's this job you guys keep talking about? Bodyguard? Bouncer? Roughin' up some people that are causin' you trouble? Nah, you could handle that. It must be something bigger than that. C'mon, I wanna know!"

Barret spoke up, cutting off the excited chatter.

"We're gonna bomb Mako Reactor One. And we're gonna do it tonight."

"…Oh." _Well that's not quite what I expected._

* * *

AN: Well, there ya go. Seeing as it's Spring Break, updates should be slightly faster for the next week or two. Oh, and for those interested in the items descriptions/explanations, I've finally decided how I'm going to do it. There will be mentions of them in the story, but if you're interested in more specific information, I've got a forum up (Venath's Writing Corner) where you can find it. There's not much going on there, so it shouldn't be too hard to find. There aren't many up right now, but that should change pretty soon. Thanks to all, and make sure to feed the review monster. 


	5. Train Ride

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII. 

AN: Thanks for all the reviews. I hope you like the chapter. Oh, and on a side note, I'm now planning to post both items, and a few other things over in my forum in the "FFVII Fanfic Extras" section. So go take a look if you're interested, or even just want to say something about the story.

"Talking"

_Thoughts_

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait. We're gonna do what now?" Did they really just say they planned to…?

"Blow up Mako Reactor One. Tonight." Apparently they had.

"Well, that's a little short notice, isn't it? I thought we were gonna have a couple days." He tossed a questioning look at Tifa. She shot an apologetic smile at him, before responding.

"I thought we would. Someone," Glaring at Barret, she continued. " Must have changed our plans without telling me." 

For a second, Barret actually looked a little worried. "Sorry Tif. A good chance popped up. I couldn't jus' let it go." 

Sighing, she dropped the glare, knowing that Barret hadn't actually meant anything by it. "Sorry Zack. You still in?"

_I really should see Aerith. Especially with Cloud feeling better. But still…_ "Yeah, I'm in. But I'm expecting something to pay for my troubles." 

"We have one thousand gil for this kind of thing. Is that enough?" 

"Yeah, that'll do. So what's the plan?" _Please tell me you're not gonna just plop down on the floor and make up a plan on the spot._

"Nothin' complicated," Barret spoke up. "We're jus' gonna take the twelve-fifteen up ta the Sector One Plate. Jessie an' Biggs already got the security junk covered, so you an' me jus' gotta set the bomb in the center of the reactor." 

"Short n' simple. I like it. So we've got about an hour. Anything else we need to know?" 

The brunette over by the monitors had stopped typing, and held out a small card. "You'll need one of these. I made fake IDs to get us past the checkpoints the train goes through. I should be able to have yours done in about half an hour." Taking one of the cards, he glanced it over. _Nice. She must've worked with Shinra's tech department before. Not many people can make IDs that'll fool Shinra's automated security systems…Not too hard to get by the guards though._

"Nice. You have to be really good with the techie stuff to pull one over on Shinra's security systems." At this, she gave him an embarrassed grin, clearly pleased to hear the praise. "I know Tifa here mentioned it already, but I'm Zack, by the way."

"I'm Wedge."

"Jessie. Nice to meet you."

"So, who all's coming on this trip?" 

"Me n' you, then Biggs, Wedge, n' Jessie. Tif's stayin' back at the bar this time." So Tifa was staying behind? 

"Yo Cloud, you're still feelin' sick from the Mako Poisoning, so why don't you stick around here with Tifa this round." The blond looked like he wanted to protest for a moment, but then nodded. As much as he wanted to help, he was still feeling a bit roughed up.

"Don't worry buddy. I'm sure you'll be ready in time for our next job, whatever that is." Nodding back at Cloud, he started for the elevator. "Well, guess I'll be meetin' you guys on the twelve-fifteen to Sector One. Oh, I forgot." Pulling a small box out of his pocket, he tossed it to Cloud "Here buddy. They're from Wutai. Should help you get back on your feet. Later." And with that, he was heading back for the main bar.

"Hey Spiky, help Tif' watch after the place while we're out." Following in Zack's trail, Barret boarded the elevator. 

Cloud's downtrodden posture wasn't easy to miss. Walking over and hopping up on the edge of the pool table beside him, Tifa put an arm around her friend's shoulders. She already knew what the problem was, but he'd probably be better of actually getting it out. 

"Hey Cloud. Why the long face?" 

"I just…I want to help, but I can't do anything. It makes me feel…Useless. It's just like before Nibelheim." 

_I know how you feel_. And she did. She hated that shewasn't going with them on this mission, but they needed someone to watch Marlene if things went awry."Don't worry about that. You heard what he said. You'll be back on your feet in no time." 

Biggs cut in on the conversation, clearly following the same line of thought. "Yeah squirt, no worries. I'm sure you'll be ready to kick some Shinra ass by the time we pull our next job." 

Giving his shoulders one more squeeze, Tifa made for the elevator. "I have to go put Marlene to bed. You can feel free to use anything down here or up at the bar." As she left, Biggs turned to Cloud. 

"So, any good at pool?" 

* * *

In the meantime, after retrieving the Buster Sword from the Seventh Heaven, Zack was back at the inn. Or weapon shop, depending on who you asked. He was slightly disappointed to see that they'd let the kid down. He'd been hoping to get in one more shot at making him admit that the Mauler couldn't touch the Griffon. 

_Oh well, at least I know it's true._

"Hey there, sonny. Rentin' up another room tonight?" 

"Sorry man. We're shackin' up at the Seventh Heaven. I was hoping to find some materia though, if you guys happen to have any. You do sell weapons here, right?" 

Glad to have a customer who would actually pay a decent price and **not** try to skip out on it, they were glad to help. "Well, we do have one. Neither of us really know how to use it, but we're pretty sure it's a good attack spell." Reaching behind the counter, the man running the weapon shop opened a small compartment at the bottom of the counter near the floor, and pulled out a small green orb the size of a large marble.

"Whattya think?" 

Zack took the small orb in the palm of his hand and closed his eyes, making a small fist around it. He focused on the spirit energy flowing through the materia from the planet, bringing the energy just to the surface and holding it there, as he didn't want to cast a spell in the center of a building. A short time later, he opened his eyes, grinning at the salesman.

"Oh yes, this will do just fine. How's three hundred gil sound? Standard rate for base level materia up on the plate." 

Eyes gleaming, the man gladly accepted the offer. They'd only been planning to sell it for half of that. Maybe two hundred if they could drag it out of one of the Shinra soldiers around there who wanted to use it. 

"Thanks. I'm sure I can put this to good use. It'll be a real 'shocker' for the next guy who decides to pick a fight with yours truly." 

"Good doin' business with ya. Stop in again any time." 

Giving them a wave as he walked out the door, he pulled out the Buster Sword, and placed the materia in the slot nearest to the hilt. _Well, guess I should head for the station._

* * *

Barret had been sitting in Marlene's room for nearly an hour. He had already made all of his preparations before coming to the meeting, so he knew he had the time. It was all he wanted to do, really. He was confident in his skills, but they'd never attempted something like this before, and an "ex-SOLDIER" appearing to join them just as the plan was getting ready to come to fruition made him suspicious.

Kissing the girl on her forehead, with a strangely gentle grace for someone his size, he whispered an "I love you" before walking out the door, and shutting it behind him. He knew that Tifa would watch over his adopted daughter if anything happened to him. Holding his gun-arm in front of his face, he looked over it one more time, and let out a deep breath.

_Let's do this._

Entering the main room below, he found Tifa cleaning the room up yet again. It was already more than clean enough, but they knew she felt like she had to keep herself busy when she was worried about something. In this case, probably them. They'd been resisting Shinra before with smaller things like leaving messages on Shinra property, or talking to customers about how bad Mako Reactors were for the planet. But they'd never done something so extreme. Something that could make Shinra acknowledge their "New Avalanche" just as much as they recognized the old Avalanche. She was especially worried since she wouldn't be joining them, and couldn't do anything to help as a result.

"Later Tif."

"Barret." He stopped walking, turning halfway toface her."Be careful, okay?" He would try. He couldn't promise anything, but he could try.

"Please. Like I need ta be careful. We'll whip them Shinras like they werea coupla toddlers. Yadon't got nothin' ta worry'bout with me there." He grinned at her, and she smiled back.

"We'll be waiting for you guys. Just try not to get hurt."

"Yes Ma'am." He gave her a little mock salute, and walked through the door. 

* * *

As the timer went off, Jessie pulled out their new IDs. 

"Time to go boys." Wedge made a few more small adjustments to his model plane and placed it on a nearby crate, while Biggs put the black eight ball into the right side pocket of the pool table. Patting Cloud on the shoulder, he followed as Jessie and Wedge made for the elevator.

"Best two out of three when we get back?"

"Sure." 

As they rose to the bar floor, she made sure to give them their IDs. Didn't want any accidents happening on this run. Tifa was waiting at the bar when they came through, and gave them a thumbs up.

"Good luck. And guys, take care." 

Biggs happily returned the sign, grinning as he spoke. "We'll be back before you know it." 

Wedge joined in the reassurances, as did Jessie. 

"Hey, nothing's gonna happen to me when I've got your cookin' to look forward to." 

"Yeah, and I can't very well leave you with just these goony guys for company." They laughed for a few seconds, before leaving with one last wave from Tifa.

Tifa was worried, but knew they'd be fine. _After all, they're good at what they do. And now they have a SOLDIER with them._

* * *

When Zack arrived, Barret and his crew were already waiting at the bench near the train. Barret looked like he was in a bad mood, but the other three seemed fine. The gunman probably just didn't trust him.

"Heya guys. My late?" Jessie shook her head, while Biggs and Wedge murmured a couple of negatives at him, clearly anxious. Barret just gave him a grunt. As he got closer, the brunette handed him the small ID she'd made earlier.

"It's a bit of a rush job, but it should work fine. I'll make a better one later." 

"That's enough yappin' people. We need ta get this crazy train movin'. We're in the last car, so hop on." 

Getting on the train wasn't remotely hard, nor was getting to the last car. At twelve-fifteen, it would practically be deserted until later in the morning, save for the few "residents" who took advantage of the fact that the train didn't require a fee by using it as a mobile home of sorts. Wedge, still looking rather anxious, decided to strike up a conversation.

"So, uh, I've never really been up on the plate before. What's it like?" Figuring he'd probably spent more time on the plate than most of them, Zack decided to give him a rundown.

"Depends on where you're going, really. The industrial sector is probably impressive when it comes to architecture, but it's nothin' pretty to look at. Y'know, just a bunch of drab, cookie-cutter grey and black buildings. Well, that's not true. Sometimes they have that nice yellowish-brown rust color covering half the building."

Wedge didn't look like he would enjoy listening to that, so Zack moved on. 

"The rest isn't that bad though. They've got a couple smaller chocobo racing arenas that are fun to visit, but nothing like what you can see at the Gold Saucer. Some of the richer neighborhoods are pretty fun to roam. Oh, and they've got the Balfia Technological History Museum over in Sector Four. Big place with all the information on technological advancements over the last hundred years. I think it's a bit too preachy and drawn out, but you guys would probably be able appreciate it more than me." 

Wedge spoke up at this, while Biggs and Jessie were listening in, obviously interested in something relating to their specialties. 

"All the technology? So does it have like, afull-scalemodel of the Gelnika?" 

Zack smiled before answering. "Yep. They have one of the real live Gelnika modelson display, actually. Last time I saw it, the only things they didn't actually have were the Highwind and the rocket up in Rocket Town. Pity too, because those'd be a sight to see." 

Before he could continue, and alarm started blaring. _Security alarm! Damn…_As Zack pulled the Buster Sword from where it rested on his back, Jessie looked like she was trying to decide between being worried, and incredibly angry.

"This shouldn't have happened. I must've made a mistake on Zack's card." 

"It's too late ta worry 'bout that now." They were almost at the station. There wouldn't be any point in jumping ship this close. "The Shinra're gonna be ready ta start a fight. SOLDIER-boy, you're up first." 

"On it." Going to the door, he shoved it open, grabbed the top, and flipped himself onto the roof.

"Damn showoff."

Jessie was grinning at him. "Oh c'mon Barret, he's not that bad."

Zack was running across the train cars, wanting to get to the front before it came to a stop. No point in sticking around on the back. At least this way, he might be able to catch the security team that would probably be sent to apprehend them by surprise. As he reached the engine car, he could see the station coming into view. Glancing behind him to make sure the others made it to the roof without trouble, he looked ahead again only to find several soldiers running onto the platform, readying their weapons.

He gave a quick salute with the Buster Sword, then focused on the materia inside it, and began charging the energy around his hand, curling it into a fist. As the electricity crackled and jumped around his fingers, he prepared to jump. "Throwing" the strands of lightning from his hands, and seeing the soldiers fly back across the platform as they were hit head-on by the deadly spell, he jumped from the train as it began to slow.

By the time Barret and the others joined him on the platform, Zack was calmly standing there, several more Shinra soldiers now either dead or disabled on the ground. 

"What took ya?" 

"Ah, jus' shut it. Le's get movin'. Our goal," he pointed towards the reactor to the north, "Is Mako Reactor Number One." 

As the others ran ahead, Zack took a moment to look up at the towering structure. 

_Well. Let's get this party started._

* * *

AN: So, there we have it. We've finally hit the reactor. Hoping to hear more from you guys. Always nice to have some reader input, even if it's just a "Keep it up."


	6. The Bombing Mission

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.

AN: Blah. Sorry for the late update, everyone. But between playing Crisis Core (w00t!), writing several stories (Fun), and college (blegh. Research paper), I've been spread pretty thin. I'm even putting several of my currently unreleased stories on hold for a while. Anyway, I think we're looking at updates every weekend, to every other weekend. Hope you enjoy.

_Thoughts_

**Time Passage**

* * *

_Well, let's get this party started._

Placing the Buster Sword on the magnetic holster on the back of his uniform, he picked up one of the smaller hardedge swords that had belonged to one of the soldiers unfortunate enough to come to the platform.

_Yeah, I think Cloud could use this one._

Reaching the gated entrance to Reactor One, he noted that Barret was the only one who hadn't arrived yet. Jessie was kneeling next to the entrance, a cord connecting her small computer to a panel below the security control pad that had been pried open. Figuring that he probably wouldn't understand everything running down the screen anyway, he made some small talk with Biggs and Wedge as they stood guard, both armed with small handguns. Mostly out of habit, he noted that they were slightly dated Quicksilver models.

"Man, the hell you doin'!" Barret's annoyed voice sounded from their right, as the large man came into view. "I told you goons never to move in a group!" He gave an exasperated grunt, before continuing. "So what's the deal?"

Jessie put away the small computer as the green light above the door lit up, and they all walked inside, gathering near the end of the entrance hallway. As the door shut behind them, she began to speak.

"We're in what's called the 'Courtyard' of the reactor. There should be a door to the north that leads to a bridge connecting the courtyard to the Outer Sector of the reactor. There'll probably be a few security doors that go to the Inner Sector of the reactor, maybe a couple of guards, but nothing we can't deal with. From there, we take an elevator to the First Level, but it doesn't go to the Core Level, so we'll have to take the stairs. It should be a pretty clear shot from there."

Zack decided to add a little of what he knew to the mix, not that he had an exceptional amount of experience with reactors. "There's probably not going to be a lot of security. Not if it's still like it was when I worked at Shinra. The security's not lax, but they never really _update_ anything."

Barret nodded, pointing his gun arm to in the direction of the reactor. "Alright, meet on the bridge in fronta the North Mako Reactor. Move out!" They all split up, even if just to keep Barret satisfied. Zack went on his own, while Biggs went with Barret, and Wedge followed Jessie.

As several soldiers came his way, Zack ducked into a small alley, watching as they rushed to the platform Avalanche had arrived on earlier. _Okay, so maybe the big guy had a point. It'd be a pain to hide all of us at once, and Shinra's not stupid enough to let that much chaos go unchecked…Even if they are too cheap to put security cameras in the stairwells at Headquarters._

After about seven minutes and three more groups of soldiers later, he was in front of the North Mako Reactor, kneeling behind a pillar. Soon, Wedge and Jessie arrived, and Zack signaled them. As they joined him by the pillar, he gave them a small wave.

"So, see Barret or Biggs yet?" Wedge mumbled a negative as Jessie shook her head. _I haven't heard anything. Hope they didn't run into any trouble._

"So how'd you guys crack Shinra's security?" Wedge looked over at Jessie curiously, wondering exactly who'd helped them out as well.

"Our Avalanche is a little bigger than just us. We've got some connections here and there, as well as a couple in Shinra. They couldn't get us the security codes, but they gave us the key we'd need to decipher them."

_So it's an inside job._ "Any idea who these guys are?"

She shook her head again. "Not really. Shinra's security is too good to send things through the computer, but our connections leave us information. Sometimes packages, sometimes envelopes left in the bar, that kind of thing. We've never actually seen them face to face." She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, not me or Biggs, anyway. Barret might have, but I don't think so."

_Isn't that a bit risky?_ He voiced the question, and Jessie gave a small smile, half-shrugging. "We don't really have any other choice. We can't let Shinra see our faces, so…"

_Gotta work with whatcha got._ As Jessie finished her explanation, he saw Barret's head poke around the corner, disappearing for a moment before he came towards them, Biggs in tow.

"Alright, let's go."

They entered the door to the Outer Sector of the reactor, on one side of the t-shaped scaffolding the mako reactors all shared. As they turned and walked down the path to the door leading to the outer sector of the reactor, Zack took note of the lack of security. It was strange for Shinra to slack off so much when it came to protecting their precious mako reactors…He wasn't expecting serious opposition, but he'd at least expected a few more patrols.

As they went through the door, Wedge stopped. "I'll watch the escape route. You guys go on ahead." Leaving Wedge to make sure they had a clear escape, the others continued on. From here on out, they could run into more problems. It would be _much_ harder to avoid the reactor's guards inside the facility. Most of the rooms were pretty empty, so there weren't many places to hide.

Twirling the smaller blade a few times, Zack jogged to the front of the group, suggesting he take the lead. Barret agreed, letting him go ahead.

"S'all clear."

Jessie jogged to the door, and began taking off the panel below the security pad, as he'd seen her do before at the Courtyard entrance.

"Yo!" He glanced over at Barret's call. "This your first time in a reactor?"

Zack responded, shaking his head. "Nah. I've been in a couple when Shinra needed someone to check 'em."

"These things are killin' the planet. Mako energy is the planet's lifeblood, but these Shinra fools keep suckin' it dry with these freaky machines. They keep it up, 'n the planet 'll eventually give out."

Zack looked down for a moment, remembering his promise to his mentor. _Our enemy is all that threatens the planet._ "So you think Shinra's a threat to the planet?"

"O' course! That's what I've been sayin'"

"Then I agree. They should be stopped." Barret gave him an odd glance, but before he could say anything, Jessie called out that they'd deciphered the code. Silence reigned for a few more minutes, as Jessie worked to decipher the codes for the next door. It took all of five minutes for them to get through the security doors, and Zack was starting to feel a little unnerved. He doubted there was anything he couldn't handle, but the sheer lack of security was starting to get to him.

As they boarded the elevator, Biggs stayed behind to guard the entrance, and Zack pressed the yellow button near the back of the elevator, sending it on its path to the First Level. While the elevator descended, Barret had apparently decided to continue their earlier conversation.

"So…What you two got against Shinra? Can't be runnin' from 'em for nothin' right?"

"We had a problem with a couple decisions they made."

Jessie looked up at this. "Decisions?"

"Oh, y'know, just this and that. Things like locking us in a basement and experimenting on us for a few years." At their surprised looks, or more accurately, Jessie's shocked look and Barret's nearly enraged look at the thought of them doing that to people, he tried to calm them down a bit. "Hey, but it wasn't anything huge. I mean, it messed Cloud up for a while, but it was basically the same thing they put us through when we get into SOLDIER. Just…Longer."

The elevator came to a stop, and they made a quick run to the bottom of the stairs, entering the door just in front of their end. It took a few more minutes of jumping across some small gaps, and crawling down ladders before Jessie stopped as well, kneeling next to yet another ladder.

As he and Barret reached the Reactor Core, Barret walked off to the side, tossing him the bomb. "When we blow this place, this ain't gonna be nothin' but a hunk a junk. You set the bomb."

"But shouldn't you set it?"

"Not a chance. You got a nice story, but I still don't trust ya. Gotta make sure you don't try to pull nothin'."

"Alright…" _Let's see…How the heck do ya set this thing? I shoulda paid more attention when Jessie was talkin' about this…_Pressing a few buttons that he remembered watching Jessie point to, a ten minute countdown began on the clock.

"Got it! We should, uh, we should probably get outta here." As they began to walk, they suddenly heard gunfire echoing from above them.

"The hell!?" Even as Barret said it, a large red form fell to the ground just behind them, it's mechanical "tail" coming up behind it, charging with red energy. _Well that's not good._

"Barret, watch out for the tails on these things!" Seeing Barret leap to the side as the red beam of energy shot passed him and began opening fire, he knew the man had heard him. Jumping into the air, he brought the hardedge down in a double-handed strike on the Scorpion's tail.

Its tail quickly shifted, the bladed end blocking the strike, and flinging him backwards into the air. As he turned in the air, positioning himself to land on his feet, he allowed the energy to flow into his materia, and fired a lightning bolt at the creature. The sudden electrical strike caused it to stumble as it made a charge at Barret, which the large man dodged with a strange sort of ease, sliding between the thing's legs.

Reaching his gun-arm up below the creatures right hind leg, Barret slipped the end between an opening in the creatures armor, and opened fire. When Zack landed, Barret was calling him, already making his way towards the ladder. Following behind the larger man, he glanced back at the Guard Scorpion as it struggled to turn. Between the lightning attack, and Barret nearly destroying the inside of one of its legs, it was barely able to move.

_Besides, we don't need to destroy it. We just need to get out and let the bomb finish it off. Should be pretty clear sailing fro-_ "Barret!?" he called out at the man, finally noticing the blood running down his arm. "You alright!?"

"Don't worry 'bout me! Just keep movin'!"

Getting back up the ladders took half the time it took to get down. Running from a bomb could make a person move a little faster. As they reached the level Jessie had been guarding, they saw two dead soldiers next to a kneeling Jessie. The woman was pulling at her leg, a small trail of blood dripping down her cheek.

"I'll get her! You go on ahead and tell the others!" Barret sent him a nod, and began running for the next series of ladders. Kneeling down next to her, she spoke before he could ask what was wrong.

"Foot got stuck when I was fighting 'em. Think it might be sprained." Not wanting to take any more time than necessary, he grabbed the metal bars restraining her foot, and pried them apart, the added power of two SOLDIER treatments making the feat a simple task.

"You gonna need help walking?" She stood up, shifting her weight a few times before shaking her head at him.

"No, I think I'm good." With that, they began the dash for the entrance, meeting up with Biggs along the way. Though they saw a few Shinra soldiers, they encountered little resistance, as the troops had apparently figured out what was happening, and were more interested in getting out of the building alive than fighting the terrorist group.

As they finally reached the bridge to the Courtyard of the reactor, Jessie dropped to a knee, gripping her leg just above the ankle. Zack didn't waste any time pulling her up and lifting her arm around his shoulder, and continuing his run. He'd gotten used to running while carrying someone that was injured when he and Cloud were on the run. As he neared the door, he noticed that Barret, Biggs, and Wedge were all straining against the security door, which always closed automatically when the reactor was in danger, trying to hold it open. He passed through the entrance, and they let go just as the roar of the explosion echoed through the room.

Whistling as the sounds of the explosion started to quiet down, he glanced around at the others.

"Well, that was fun."

* * *

**Three hours later, Wall Market…**

"And where do you think you're going, Rod?" Sukueni, more commonly known by the codename Rod, knew who it was before the sentence was even finished. The redheaded Turk had a very distinct voice. Especially when he was actually trying to get on someone's nerves. Of course, it helped that Reno had been the one responsible for his recruitment into the Turks. It was hard to forget the person who'd basically gotten you where you were in life.

"Leaving."

"I don't remember you getting a mission." He flipped out a small cell phone, pressing a few buttons before continuing. "No vacations either. So, what's goin' on in that head of yours?" He shut the phone, placing it back in his pocket.

"You know what I'm talking about, Reno. I'm sure Tseng has already figured it out. And if he knows, you and Rude won't be in the dark for too long."

"Nobody betrays Shinra. Anyone who does won't exist much longer." That hardly needed saying. They were both Turks, after all.

"Is that why you're here?" He doubted he could take the man. He was one of the most recognized Turks in the business for a reason. Well, he was one of the most recognized Turks in the business for several reasons, but his skill was definitely one of them.

"Me? Course not." He grinned, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I'm not on duty right now, so a little defection ain't my problem."

He smiled back at the older Turk. If nothing else, they could count on the fact that Reno and Rude were only ruthless when they were actually working. Otherwise, they were pretty laid back guys.

"Guess I'll be seein' you around then, Reno." He turned to leave, heading for Wall Market's exit.

"Sukueni." He paused, looking back at his 'mentor.'

"Hm?" _What now?_

"Tell Cissnei and the others to take care. We'll have to come after you when we're on duty, and we only have so much vacation time."

He nodded, before leaving. Reno and Rude liked the other Turks. They wouldn't hunt them down unless they had to, just like they'd only hunted Zack because they had to. They should have some time before Shinra realized exactly what had happened.

_Now, we need to get to Fuhito. Who knows how much longer we'll have until Zirconiade's release._

* * *

AN: Well, there we go. Looking forward to any reviews. By the way, any other writers having problems with formatting on FFN documents recently?


	7. Things go Awry

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.

AN: Well, I'm back. Booyah! Several updates on my stories. BTW, more updates on the "Item Catalogue" in the FFVII fanfic extras section of my forums should be coming soon. Since the BC Turks will be appearing, or at least mentioned, throughout this fic, I'm also going to be putting the names I'm using for each of them there as well. For example, using the one from the previous chapter:

Rod – Sukueni.

**Time Passage**

_Thoughts_

* * *

As Avalanche was busy bombing Mako Reactor One, some other familiar faces were having an adventure of their own. To be a bit more specific, Tifa was having a few issues with a few crazy old men intent on getting a few more drinks.

"C'mon, jus lemme have one drink?" Why didn't some people just understand that "closed" meant that they were closed? There was a sign and everything…

"I'm sorry sir, but we closed up shop an hour ago. You can come in for a drink tomorrow." Honestly, she'd been standing at the door arguing with the man for nearly fifteen minutes. If he was just some punk, she would have simply tossed him out and been done with it. But she just didn't have the heart to throw a frail looking old man out by force.

"I jus' wan one more. Pleash?" As Tifa closed her eyes and began to massage her forehead, the man hiccupped a few times, and a voice spoke up from the bottom of the steps.

"Come on ma'am. What could it really hurt to let him have one more?" Opening her eyes at the voice, Tifa's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the far too familiar black suit. Yet another face she hadn't seen since Nibelheim.

"Sukueni?"

He grinned. "Long time no see, eh?"

"Why are you here?" A Turk showing up at your door was rarely a good sign. She imagined it would be even worse if he found out that she happened to be hiding one of Shinra's current targets. The old man was already starting to leave, apparently having lost interest in getting a drink at the realization that a Turk was going to be there as well.

"Here for a drink. Got a long trip coming up, and figured I'd stop by. I've heard a lot about the infamous Seventh Heaven." He walked up the steps, and tilted his head to the side with a smile. "So whattya say about that drink?"

"…Yeah, why not." At least if he started something _in_ the bar, they could probably deal with it and not attract attention. Or at least, not as much as fighting it out with a Turk in the middle of the street would.

She stepped away from the doorway, allowing the Turk to step through. As he lazily strolled over to the counter, glancing around the bar with curiosity, Tifa went to grab a glass.

"So what's your order?"

"Strongest you've got. And a lot of it." A little odd. He didn't look like a heavy drinker.

"Stressed?"

"You have no idea." She began fixing a drink she'd come up with in her spare time since starting the bar. It had turned into a quick favorite of the customers, but it was expensive. It wasn't the strongest they had, but if it gave her the chance to overcharge a Turk, she could at least enjoy it.

"So," He spoke up with a more serious expression than before. "Hear the news about those two criminals that escaped Shinra?" She kept preparing the drink, hoping he hadn't noticed the tightening of her fingers at the mention of the "criminals" Shinra was after.

"I'm not that interested in Shinra's business." She set the drink on the counter.

"I can imagine." Picking up the glass, he began to rotate it, watching the liquid swirl around in the cup. "You know, Shinra's been getting edgy about it. Rumor has it they might be in the slums. So the big guys upstairs have been sending out most of what they've got. A nice old manhunt."

"Sounds annoying." He took a drink, and his eyebrows rose slightly.

"This is good." He took another drink, more slowly this time. "Anyway, just thought you might be interested in the news. Apparently the big wigs are sending troops to watch on all of their associates. Y'know, friends, family, and that sorta thing." He quickly finished the rest, setting the glass back down while he stood up. He tossed a handful of gil on the counter, and began to walk off.

"Well, I'd love to stay and have more. But I've got some business to get to." As he reached the door, he added one last comment. "Watch your back, kid." With that, he walked through the door.

"I need to take care of something." She turned towards the stairs in surprise, where Cloud had reached the bottom of the steps.

"What?" _But you still seem so tired._

"Have to check on something for Zack."

_Check on something?_ "That girl he was talking about?" Cloud nodded.

"The Turk was warning us. I need to make sure she's safe."

"We should wait for the others to get back." _Someone needs to watch Marlene, and you look like a strong breeze could take you down in a fight._ He shook his head.

"I owe Zack my life, and more. This is something I have to do." He gave her a small smile. "I'll make it quick. Don't worry." She looked like she was going to protest again, but eventually gave him a nod.

"Alright, but hold on." She reached under the bar for a moment, opening a small compartment and pulling out one of the older Quicksilvers that they all carried. Holding it out to him, she continued. "But at least take this with you."

He took the weapon, and made his way to the door after a quick half-wave. "I'll be back soon."

* * *

As Zack and the others took a moment to recover, he felt he needed to ask something. It hadn't seemed that important at the time, but since they were stuck until Jessie and Biggs were ready to blow out an exit, there wasn't much else to do.

"So, big guy, why'd you push up the timetable? Tifa said you weren't doin' this job for a couple days?"

"Shinra's been all messed up the last coupla days. Don't really know why, but it gave us the chance."

_They've been in enough chaos to let stuff like this happen? Oh yeah, I'm good._

"Okay," Jessie called as she and Biggs jogged back to them, though she was limping a little. "Stand back."

Moments later, the wall exploded outward. Ignoring the flames surrounding the newly formed exit, Zack leaped through, Barret and the others following closely behind. After a short episode where they practically had to tackle Wedge to put the flames on his pants out, they split up. There was no sense in staying together. With the sound of all the explosions, even the most oblivious of Shinra's troops would be there soon. As fate would have it, Zack had only been walking through the nearly abandoned streets for a few minutes on the way to the station when he was spotted.

"Hey you, freeze!"

_Aw, and here I thought I might get to relax._ "Sorry, got a train to catch!" he called back, laughing as the soldiers chased after him. Running through the streets, he picked up about six other soldiers who had apparently heard the calls.

They were only running for a couple minutes before they came to a three way overpass that overlooked the train tracks. Or at least, the soldiers were running. To a SOLDIER, it was a brisk jog at the most. Even as he ran towards the end of the tracks, the train he was supposed to be on had started passing below them. By the time he was at the edge, it had already passed, and was steadily starting to gain distance.

"Dead end, we've got 'em!"

_Yeah, right. Got me._ "See ya!" He gave them a quick joking salute, and ran a few steps before shoving off as hard as he could, sending himself several dozen feet through the air to the back of the train.

As Zack began calmly walking across the top of the train, looking for the car they were supposed to meet in, the soldiers back at the overpass understood exactly what had just happened.

"H-he was SOLDIER! We have to get back to HQ, now!"

* * *

It had taken him nearly an hour and a half to find this Aerith girl. All he'd known was that she had a tendency to spend a lot of time at an old abandoned church somewhere in Sector Five. To make it worse, he wasn't very familiar with the slums, and had to ask directions several times, and had been "accidentally mislead" a few times.

When he arrived, he was glad he'd made the decision to come. A Shinra helicopter was just outside the church, several soldiers standing guard. Not wanting to start a fight until he knew what he was dealing with, Cloud crawled along the buildings and debris around the church, making his way to a large hole he'd seen in the ceiling from a distance.

When he finally got to the top, he heard a very familiar voice speaking in kind, but still quite serious tones.

"Aerith, please don't make this difficult. We need you to come with us."

_Tseng? I knew they were watching our friends, but Sukueni didn't say anything about them actually acting on them._ Looking over the edge, he could clearly make out Tseng and a young woman dressed in pink, who must have been Aerith. He also made out the two SOLDIER uniforms standing behind Tseng, thankfully with their swords still sheathed.

He quickly checked over the Quicksilver, and took aim at the SOLDIER in the black uniform. He could probably take Tseng or the red-uniformed Second Class, especially if he surprised them, but weak as he still was from the treatments, he doubted he could take a First Class even with the element of surprise on his side. His fingered tightened on the trigger, and he fired.

He wasn't sure what surprised him the most. It was either the fact that he felt almost no kick from the weapon whatsoever, or the fact that the black-uniformed First Class had flashed his blade out and deflected an otherwise perfect headshot in a split second. Knowing any kind of surprise was lost, Cloud jumped down from the ceiling, landing steadily on the ground behind the trio of Shinra agents.

The First Class stepped forward to engage him, and he saw the Second Class grab Aerith and run for the exit. Tseng stayed behind, a modified Quicksilver aimed at Cloud from behind the SOLDIER. Cloud returned the favor, training his weapon on the Turk.

"What do you want with her?" _Damn. Zack isn't gonna like this._

"We're not going to hurt her. We'll even try to keep Hojo from getting his hands on her. But we needed some bait for Zack."

"I won't let you do that." He knew it was an empty claim. Even as they spoke, he could see the helicopter rising into the air, undoubtedly returning to Shinra.

"We're going to have to bring you back as well, Cloud."

"Not happening." _I need to warn Zack._

"Luxiere, I'll leave this to you."

Tseng's voice was drowned out, as Cloud's vision suddenly went blurry, and his head felt as though it was about to split open. _What is this?_ The other SOLDIER, Luxiere, also looked slightly off balance, but not nearly as much as Cloud. As the SOLDIER charged forward, Cloud barely blocked a downward strike of the other man's sword with the Quicksilver, the force of the attack cracking the handgun, rendering it practically useless. The struggle only went on for a few more moments before the pain in his head became too much, and he passed out.

"Luxiere." The SOLDIER looked back at Tseng, rubbing his forehead beneath the helmet. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know, sir. My head just feels…Strange."

Tseng looked at him with a slightly curious expression. "Strange? How so?"

"A headache, but…" He paused, thinking of how to describe it. "It feels almost like someone's talking to me. Calling me."

Tseng looked concerned, or at least what Luxiere assumed was his concerned look, but turned towards the entrance and began to walk away.

"Bring him with us. And make sure to see either Professor Rayleigh or Hojo when we're back at headquarters. We don't need something going wrong with SOLDIER personnel right now."

"Yes sir." Picking up the young blond and lifting him over his shoulder, he followed in Tseng's footsteps, wondering what was wrong with them. The blond man had obviously felt something as well, though it was clearly more powerful than what he'd felt. When Tseng had given him the report on the two "prisoners" who'd escaped, he'd learned that one had Mako Poisoning. _Maybe that's why it was worse?_

He shook his head. He would see Professor Rayleigh when he got back to Shinra, and ask around the SOLDIER quarters to see if it was just him.

* * *

In the Mythril Mines, a young woman with reddish-brown hair in a black suit answered her phone, a grim expression on her face. Her two companions, a black-haired man wearing glasses and a woman with dark blonde hair, turned to here, waiting to hear the latest news.

"Cissnei here." She listened in for a few more seconds, making short replies, and sometimes an "affirmative" or a "negative." Finally, the conversation seemed to end.

"Understood. Cissnei out." Turning to her companions, she filled them in. "Yuuko and Sukueni are done with their business in Midgar. They're going to meet up with Mayuko at the Chocobo Farm out past the marshes, and we'll rendezvous at Fort Condor."

The black-haired man glanced towards one of the various cavern entrances before asking her a question. "Have they heard from the others?"

Cissnei shook her head. "Sorry Ōtsuka." _I'm not too worried about them. Shinra is too busy with Zack. Now him I'm worried about._

The young blonde woman spoke up a moment later, voicing the same thoughts Cissnei going through Cissnei's mind. "I think they'll be fine. Shinra has been busy lately, and I'm sure Tseng will cover for them long enough for them to get away."

The man spoke up again, a half-smile on his face. "Yes, I'm sure you're right Megumi. Mr. Fair is bound to keep Shinra busy for a while."

They'd all met Zack on at least one occasion, and all of them were aware of how well he could handle himself, despite his somewhat comical personality. Cissnei turned away from them, looking towards the exit leading to the marshes.

"You two go on ahead. I'm going to wait here for the others."

"Understood," Ōtsuka gaver her a respectful nod, as he and Megumi began walking for the exit leading to the plains where Fort Condor resided. "Take care of yourself, Cissnei. We'll call you if we meet any of the others."

She returned the nod. "I'll do the same. Good luck."

* * *

AN: Love to hear what y'all think. Especially your opinions on the "Turk" segments. The Turks will appear in the "main" story at points, but would you like those to be their only appearances, or would you like me to keep giving you the little segments showing what they're up to during the times when they aren't in the main story?


	8. Strange Happenings

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.

AN: w00t! Chapter's up earlier than I expected. Just kinda wrote itself. Anyway, if you're not familiar with the BC characters, stay tuned for the author's note at the end.

"Talking"

_Thoughts_

* * *

Zack shoved open the doors to the Seventh Heaven, grin on his face.

"Honey, I'm ho-hey!" His call was cut off as Barret pushed him aside, giving him a glare before walking over the hidden elevator and going to the basement "headquarters."

"Yeesh. Didn't think I was that bad." Zack mumbled, setting the smaller sword he'd acquired during the mission on a nearby table. Barret had been considerably angry at him for "bein' so damn dramatic" when he'd flipped into their train car several minutes into the ride, scaring them half to death. Jessie patted him on the shoulder as she walked by.

"He's just glad you're alright. I think he's starting to like you guys." Seconds later, Tifa came hurtling down the stairs, looking worried. Not seeing Cloud in the little group, she turned to Jessie.

"Have any of you seen Cloud?" Zack's grin dropped.

"What?" _What do you mean 'Have any of us seen Cloud?' Why isn't he still here?_

"He left over half an hour ago!"

"What? Where!?" _He shouldn't be out yet. Mako Poisoning is __**not**__ something that you get over like that._

"Guys," Wedge interrupted, looking up the stairs towards Marlene's room. "Maybe we should take this down to HQ." It was probably a good idea. The basement was practically soundproof. When they arrived in the basement, Barret seemed surprised to see them. They usually stayed upstairs for a drink or something to eat after doing a job of some kind. As the elevator brought the last of them down, Zack stepped off and turned to Tifa.

"Alright, so what happened? Why is Cloud gone?"

"Well, I was trying to convince old man Dalan that we weren't going to open up just so he could have a drink, and Sukueni showed up." At this, Wedge cut in.

"Sukueni?"

Zack seemed to recognize the name. "He was a Turk, wasn't he?" He'd been one of the Turks after Cloud and him when they were on the run. Zack had only met him once or twice before.

Apparently, Barret wasn't pleased with this. "A Turk? The hell's a Turk doin' here!?"

Ignoring Barret's outburst, Tifa continued. "He said some things about how Shinra was looking for you two, and how they were watching people you knew." At this, she could see Zack putting the pieces together in his head. His guilty and worried expression was more than enough to tell her that he understood where she was going with the story.

"Cloud heard him, and we thought he was trying to warn us about something. I wanted to wait for the rest of you to get back, but Cloud didn't think we'd have the time."

"He went to look for Aerith, didn't he?" Tifa nodded at Zack's question, watching his shoulders slump. _If something's happened to him, it's my fault. I knew I should've just made sure she was okay myself._ Taking pity on the man, Tifa tried to calm him down.

"Hey, it's not your fault. Maybe he just wanted to stick around until one of us could get there." They both knew that wasn't very likely. If Shinra was hunting someone from SOLDIER, they wouldn't just be using a few normal soldiers.

"I have to go find him." _If Cloud got hurt…_As he turned to get back on the elevator, Tifa grabbed his shoulder.

"I'm going with you."

"I don't think that's-" He cut off at Tifa's look. That definitely wasn't the look of someone about to take no for an answer. She turned to Barret with an apologetic expression.

"Go on. Avalanche can wait." She nodded at him in thanks, and stepped on the small elevator with Zack.

"Alright," the ex-SOLDIER began. "We should check the church first. If Cloud was looking for her, that'd be the first place to start."

It didn't take them even half as long as Cloud to get to the church. Having been there countless times, getting lost or needing directions weren't issues for Zack, and Tifa did surprisingly well at keeping up with him for someone who hadn't been in SOLDIER. Unfortunately, upon arriving at the church, he was both relieved and disappointed. There weren't any signs of a struggle.

On one hand, that meant there was a chance that Cloud and Aerith were fine. On the other, they could have simply been confronted somewhere else, taken by surprise, or the ones after them simply could have covered their tracks. It wouldn't be hard, especially for a company that could destroy an entire town and get away without anyone being suspicious at all.

Hearing rapid, light footsteps behind them, Tifa and Zack swerved to see a teenage boy speeding to a stop right in front of them, gasping like he'd just run a marathon.

"Zack. Knew it. Was you." He wheezed out, leaning over and placing his hands on his knees. Zack recognized him easily, even though he was several years older than when Zack had last seen him. The young teen had stolen his wallet on the day he'd met Aerith, and had taken a liking to the SOLDIER during the two years he'd been dating her.

"Hey, breathe kid. We're looking for Aerith? Have ya seen her around?" The boy nodded vigorously, and took a few seconds to catch his breath.

"Some guys in a black helicopter came and took her away. Then some more came out carrying this blond guy in a uniform like yours." As his breathing returned to normal, he looked up at Zack. "I saw you running this way, and thought I should tell you. Where've you been?"

"Had some trouble with Shinra. I just got back to Midgar yesterday."

The boy seemed to take notice of Tifa, and frowned. "Who's she?"

"A friend. We came here to find Aerith and that blond man. You said someone took them?"

"Yeah, looked like they were from Shinra." He grabbed Zack's arm. "You're gonna bring Aerith back, right? I mean, she's not gonna get hurt?"

_Not a chance in hell._ "I promise I'll bring her back safe. You don't need to worry." _Her and Cloud both. If it's the last thing I do._

The teen grinned up at the former SOLDIER. "Alright. Then I won't."

"Now," Zack turned to look up towards the plate, in the direction of Shinra's headquarters. "How are we gonna get them back?" _I expect security to be pretty tight, between Avalanche attacking and me n' Cloud being back in town._

Tifa seemed to be thinking along similar lines. "Well, we can't just charge in. How was security when you guys went?"

_Right, can't give specifics with the kid here._ "We had some trouble on the train. Security identification checks caught the cards."

"So," Tifa crossed her arms, expression thoughtful. "We'll have to find another way to even get up to the plate. We should probably see Jessie and Biggs about it."

"Hey." They both looked over at the boy. "If you guys need to get up to the plate, I might have an idea." They both gave him a nod, and he continued.

"There's this girl I know, right? And she's got this uncle who's a pretty powerful guy here in the slums. I mean, he's like some kinda Don or something, so he's got connections and stuff. He might be able to pull a few strings or somethin' for ya."

_Well that sounds familiar. Where've I heard that before?_ "Sounds good to me." He turned back to Tifa. "What about you Tifa?"

"It's a start."

"I'll go with the kid here"

"And I'll go see Barret and the others. Meet back here in an hour?"

Zack turned to the boy. "That okay with you, kid?"

"Sure." If it meant making sure Aerith was safe, he'd help them out however he could.

"Alright team," Zack grinned at his companions. "Looks like we might have ourselves a plan."

* * *

Luxiere walked into the medical facility on the fiftieth floor of Shinra's headquarters, and made a beeline for Professor Rayleigh's office. Normally he liked seeing Professor Rayleigh, like most of those in SOLDIER did. She was certainly easier to connect with than Professor Hojo, anyway.

Today was different. If it had just been him, he wouldn't have been so concerned. But it wasn't just him. He'd seen over a dozen of his fellow SOLDIERS on the way up. And while SOLDIERS certainly needed medical attention from time to time, after all they weren't invulnerable, there were almost never more than three or four to see the SOLDIER medical specialists at a time. To see so many of his fellow SOLDIERS having the same problem he was felt a bit unnerving.

He entered Professor Rayleigh's office just in time to see Kunsel donning the traditional SOLDIER helmets that almost all of them wore, as Professor Rayleigh began writing something on the clipboard sitting on a nearby counter. Despite his concern over the possible medical problems they could all be suffering from, he couldn't help but be disappointed. He was pretty certain that nobody in the SOLDIER department besides the professors who handled their medical care had actually seen the SOLDIER Second Class' face.

"Kunsel, did y-"

"Did I suddenly feel nauseous, nearly drop a five thousand gil prototype potion that I was delivering to the professor here, and just barely catch the newbie I was showing around the SOLDIER floor when he basically passed out? Yes, thank you for asking."

"…Alright. I'm definitely not the only one then." He looked towards Professor Rayleigh. "Any idea what's going on doc?"

The middle-aged woman sighed and leaned back, pulling away her small eyeglasses and rubbing the bridge of her nose. Neither of them needed her to continue to figure out what that meant.

"I don't have a clue. I've examined thirteen SOLDIERS from the Third and Second Classes in the last hour, and none of them are showing anything out of the ordinary that would cause these symptoms."

Luxiere leaned against the counter, while Kunsel began stretching out. "I don't suppose the Spook knows anything about this." If there was anyone in Shinra that would have an idea of what was happening, it would be Professor Hojo Tomo.

"If he does," She frowned. "Then he's not filling anyone else in on it."

Kunsel finished his stretching, and looked to Luxiere. "So where's the blond kid? Report said his name was Cloud, right?"

"Yeah. We dropped him off over in the cells with that Aerith woman. I wonder what the higher ups are after 'em for."

Kunsel shrugged. "Don't look at me. All I got were names and pictures. But that girl…I know her. She was-" He glanced over at Rayleigh, who had turned back to her clipboard. "Well, she was a friend of a friend. I'm not sure what Shinra would want with her. She seemed nice enough from the few times I actually saw her."

Before Luxiere could say anything, his phone rang, and he heard Kunsel's do the same. Flipping the phone out, he turned around and lowered his voice.

"Luxiere here." A pause as he listened.

"Yeah, but I-" He frowned for a moment, and sighed. "Alright, I'm on my way." He turned back to Kunsel. "You get the same message?"

"All First, Second, and A-Level Thirds are to report to the briefing room immediately? What's up with that? They aren't even letting all of us check in with the doctors?" His voice was incredulous.

"You know how it is."

"Yeah. No respect for the lapdogs, right?" They shared a half-hearted laugh for a moment. "Don't suppose you got any extra info on the job, eh mister First Class SOLDIER?"

"I can't say that we're all getting the same assignment, but there've been some rumored sightings of the Crescent Unit in the Snow Village area. The last patrol they sent in didn't report back, so they're sending some of us in."

"There's no way they'd be calling so many of us in just for that though."

"That's all I've got man, sorry."

"Hey Professor," Kunsel turned towards Rayleigh. "My checkup finished yet?"

"I don't have anything else. You're free to go."

"C'mon Lux, let's get moving."

As he left the room, Luxiere couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. If Hojo didn't know what was going on, it must've been something bad.

* * *

As his mind began to clear, Cloud felt a warm feeling spread through his body. Slowly opening his eyes, he could make out the outline of a feminine figure looking down at him, a bright light shining behind her. The image became clearer as his vision began to focus, and he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"An angel?" _Am I dead?_

The brunette giggled, shoulders trembling with amusement as she shook her head.

"Nope. I'm Aerith." She kneeled down next to him.

_Aerith? Zack and Aerith. Wait!_ He shot up from his position on the bed, glancing at the surprised woman.

"Aerith Gainsborough?" She tilted her head at him, confused.

"Yes. Have we met before?"

"…No. We've never met." _How should I tell her about Zack?_

"Are you sure? You seem awfully familiar."

"I've heard a lot about you from a friend."

"A friend?" Though she was still strangely cheery for being in what Cloud assumed was a Shinra prison, she seemed a little hesitant, glancing at his uniform before continuing. "I don't suppose he might have been a SOLDIER?"

"Yeah. His name was Zack." Aerith nodded.

"Is he alright?"

"Yeah." She looked down, almost sad. "He really misses you."

She looked up, surprised, and almost a hopeful. "He does? Why hasn't he called? Or answered my letters? His mission couldn't have lasted five years, could it?"

"…He couldn't really help it. We went to a place called Nibelheim, with Sephiroth."

"I remember Zack talking about that. He seemed really excited about working with him."

_I think we were all excited to work with the SOLDIER hero._ "Something happened. Sephiroth…" He stopped, gathering his thoughts. "He just snapped. I'm not really sure what caused it. Zack might be the only one who does. He's the only one who talked to him. Sephiroth…He destroyed the entire town. Killed everyone and burned it to the ground."

He paused for a second at Aerith's shocked gasp, and continued the story. "We all tried to stop him. The villagers, me, Zack…It was pointless. The only reason we even slowed him down was by stabbing him in the back."

When he paused again, Aerith voiced another question. "So was that where he was? Did they send him after Sephiroth?"

He shook his head slightly. "No. Sephiroth was dead by then. We lucked out and got a good shot in. But by the time it was over, well…Neither of us were in any condition to fight. Then Hojo came."

"No…" The word was almost a whisper. She must have been the subject of one of Hojo's experiments before. She clearly knew what the man was capable of.

"After that, we were pretty much out of action. Zack just got us out around a year ago, and we've been making our way back here since." They were silent for several minutes, and Cloud took the time to watch the variety of emotions that seemed to cross the young woman's features. There was relief and some happiness, certainly, but also a tinge of guilt.

_For doubting him? Or maybe she was angry? Four years is a long time to go without getting so much as a word._

After a short time, he finally noticed something different. "I feel…Different. Stronger."

"You were really sick when they brought you in here. You kept mumbling about something."

_Well that's a little embarrassing._ "What was it?"

"It was hard to tell. You were pretty quiet." She glanced up for a moment, bringing her hand to her chin in thought. "The only thing I really caught was something about a union. Any idea what it means?"

_Union?_ "I can't think of anything." Pushing the thought aside, he moved on. "So why do I feel stronger? If I was so sick, shouldn't I be tired?" _I've been wiped out so much lately. Did I just sleep it off?_

"I fixed the problem."

"Huh?" _She healed me?_ "How? Do you have materia or something?"

She giggled at him again, smile returning in full force. "Nope. I don't like to use materia. It's bad for the planet."

"I…See." _Strange girl._ Her cheery attitude was contagious, and he returned her smile, albeit not as enthusiastically._ I see why Zack likes her._

Seconds later, the door to their cell slid open, and both of them turned to see the new arrival.

* * *

AN: Heh. Love to hear reviews, as always. Anyway, as I said, if you're not too familiar with the characters from BC, I now have the basic profiles for the BC Turks, BC Avalanche leaders, and some other BC-only characters such as Professor Rayleigh in the "FFVII Fic Extras" section of my forum.


	9. Infiltration

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.

AN: I'm back :) Anyway, This chapter was originally supposed to be about twice as long. However, it was nearly twice as long, and I still had a decent bit to write, so I decided to cut it off early and split the chapter so you guys could have something. It has been a few weeks, after all, so I didn't want to drag on for too much longer without so much as a word. Anyway, since it's a split chapter, expect the next update to come earlier than usual.

* * *

"You!" Before the man had even completely entered, Cloud had crossed the room, gripped him by the throat, and slammed him into the wall. Much to his aggravation, the action seemed to amuse the scientist more than anything. Seconds later, two soldiers ran into the room, nightsticks drawn.

"Professor!" Before the two could act, Hojo raised his hand in a dismissive gesture, seemingly calm about the whole situation.

"Quite the aggressive specimen, aren't we? But are you certain you want to act so violently with your friend here so close?" Hojo gestured towards Aerith, who was watching the scene unfold with concern. "I'd hate for something to happen to the last of the Ancients because you couldn't control that temper."

Cloud glanced back at her for a moment, and gave Hojo's neck one more squeeze before dropping him and stepping back. He couldn't kill the man, not when Aerith could get hurt, but he could at least cause the man a little misery. Straightening himself out, Hojo took a moment to wipe the nonexistent dust from his lab coat before looking over Cloud.

"Well, I must admit this is a surprise. I thought you might actually be one of the successful specimens, but it seems you've recovered. And with far more aggression than before, no less. I'll have to look into that, though I suppose I'll still have to label you as a failure in the Nibelheim Project. After all, the Reunion has already begun, and you aren't responding to the call." As Hojo continued to speak in low tones, Cloud had the feeling that the man wasn't really talking to them anymore. It seemed as though he was talking more to himself than to the other occupants of the cell.

"Ah, but now I've digressed. I'm afraid our time together is at an end for now. I'll return to continue your study when I've finished preparing another subject for my next project." And with that, Hojo left the room, the two guards following shortly. As the door closed behind them, Cloud turned to Aerith.

"Reunion? That must've been what I was talking about."

"But what reunion was he talking about?"

"I…I'm not sure." He closed his eyes, trying to remember anything he might have learned about this "Reunion" during his time in Nibelheim or with Zack, but came up with a blank. Shaking his head, he looked towards Aerith again.

"Whatever it is, it can wait. With all his rambling about new experiments, I think it's time for us to leave."

"Have a plan?"

"…Not yet. But I'll figure something out."

* * *

In Sector Six, there's a place called Wall Market. This section of the city is unofficially owned by a man known to most as Don Corneo, and Shinra rarely bothered to enforce their rule in this place. This man going by the name of Corneo lived in a large building near the center of Wall Market. And in this area, various women with what some considered questionable professions often spent their time, generally at the Don's request.

However, there was a different girl there this particular day. The sixteen year old brunette was currently standing in front of the "guard" who prevented anyone from entering the Don's mansion without his permission, a boy of the same age and a slightly older ex-SOLDIER standing to the side watching the show.

"What about "move" don't you understand?"

"The Don tol' me not to let anybody in."

"I'm his niece. You've seen me before, you know that. We want to talk to my uncle, so move it."

"I'm jus' doin' wha-"

"You know my uncle's not going be happy that you were so mean to me."

"I'm not-I mean, I'm not tryin' to…Okay, okay. But I'm not takin' the heat if he gets mad."

"Good boy." She gave him a pat on the head, before waving her companions over.

"Alright, Uncle's gonna see us now."

"Thanks Vina." The younger of the two boys gave her a quick one-armed hug.

"No problem Jin." They walked into the building, and stopped as they reached a door at the top.

"Just so you know, my uncle's a big perv."

"Huh?" Zack filed the information away in his mind, but he wasn't really sure how that was relevant.

"Nothing, nothing. Just thought you might want to know. If you put on a dress, I think you'd just about be pretty enough to register on his radar. We actually had a guy who tried that once." It was safe to say that this left Zack flabbergasted. Pushing the door open, she walked inside, Jin and Zack following behind.

"Uncle Corneo?" At the sound of her voice, a chubby man looked up from his desk, and gave them a big grin.

"Vina! Come here and give your uncle a hug." She walked forward to give him the hug, as Zack watched on awkwardly, feeling a little unnerved by the glances the Don was shooting his way.

"So what brings you here? And who's your new friend?"

"We need a big favor. This guy here needs to get to the upper plate."

Corneo nodded a few times. "And the trains have been shut down due to the attacks. That's a big favor to ask."

The girl pouted, looking up at her uncle with a sad look. "Please, Uncle Corneo?"

"Hmm…" He glanced over at Zack again. "Don't I know you?"

"I…Don't think so."

"Yes, I do know you. You're that SOLDIER that helped us out during the outbreak of monster attacks a few years back." The Don took on a thoughtful expression, pacing around the room.

"Well, I can't get you on a train. Even I can't do that. But I do have something that might help."

"I'd appreciate anything, man."

"It's not very common knowledge, but the city's inner walls can be used to reach the surface. Before Shinra's major advances in Mako Energy and robotics, when the city was a lot smaller, they needed to perform maintenance manually. They stopped performing manual maintenance about eight years ago, but the codes to get in haven't changed, and security is probably light, if there's any at all."

"Do you know the codes?"

"Yes, I do."

"…Can I have 'em?"

"Well, you saved my life a few years ago. That's at least worth the information. But you'll owe me for the codes. I would be in much more trouble with Shinra if they found out that I gave you those."

"Alright, alright. I'll pay you back sometime. Can I have the codes?"

Corneo smiled. "Just let me write them down. And SOLDIER?"

"Yeah?"

"This doesn't reach Shinra ears."

"Of course not."

* * *

"Alrighty then. We just put these numbers in here…" As Zack fiddled around with the keypad that would unlock the doors into the maintenance stairwells for the Sector Six wall, Tifa and Barret stood watch, making sure to keep any eye out for anyone who looked suspicious. Besides themselves, of course. Barret hadn't wanted the entire group to come in case something went wrong, so that someone could still watch Marlene, and possibly find a way to devise a rescue. Barret was their unofficial "leader," so he felt obligated to help the people who'd helped them. Naturally, Tifa was the other obvious choice regarding who to send. With one of her friends, and someone she quite clearly wanted to be more than friends with, they doubted they'd be able to convince her otherwise.

Hearing a cheery laugh, the two sentries turned to look at Zack, standing in front of the open entrance with a huge grin spread across his face.

"You two ready to go?" Walking over to him, Barret poked his head through the door, and looked up.

"…That's a lotta stairs."

"Oh, don't be such a baby, Barret." Tifa brushed past him, heading for the staircase with Zack in tow. "How bad can it be?"

Four hours later, in an alley outside of Shinra Headquarters, Zack was eagerly jumping from foot to foot, obviously overjoyed that they were finally within sight of the Shinra building. On the other hand, the two more human members of the trio weren't as excited. Or at least, they were too tired to show it.

"Awright…never…wanna see…no more stairs…" Barret looked up to the other two, laying on his back with his arms spread out.

"I-It wasn't," Tifa was leaning forward, hands resting on her knees. "Wasn't s-so bad."

"Alrighty guys! We're just about there. Now we just have to get to the upper floors. That's where they'd probably be holding 'em."

As Zack walked towards the building, Tifa straightened herself out, and Barret sat up, looking at the cheery man.

"Somethin' wrong in his head, I'm tellin' you. Lost in a tunnel full 'a stairs for four fu-"

"Just let it go, Barret. It's not worth getting upset over. Now what do you say we see if we can rescue those two?"

"Awright, awright." Following Zack, they left the alley, and caught up to him near the stairs leading to the entrance. Looking the area over, Tifa turned to Zack.

"We're not just busting in there, right?"

"Well, uh…That was kinda the plan." Zack's grin turned sheepish, as he scratched the back of his head.

Barret grinned, holding up his gun arm. "Sounds like a plan to me."

_Ugh. Men._ "We can't just break in. It'll attract way too much attention. We need something more subtle. There's some kind of entrance over there," She pointed to the right side of the building. "That should do, shouldn't it?"

_Hm…Wasn't that some kind of maintenance stairwell? I never did see what it actually was. Either way, Angeal said it wasn't very secure._ "Yeah, that'll work."

"Aw, fine. You two ain't no fun."

As they entered, looking upwards at the stairway leading into darkness, Zack was pretty certain Barret's eyes were watering.

"…Son of a-"

* * *

As Barret cursed Shinra, gods, fate, and whatever else happened to cross his mind that could have possibly been responsible for creating "endless staircases," other events were about to unfold further up in Shinra Headquarters. While listening to Aerith's tale of Zack's rather unusual metal wagon, Cloud was sitting on the "bed" on the opposite side of the room, trying to figure out how to escape. Honestly, they weren't in the greatest position. With the experiments, he had more than enough raw power to deal with the average soldiers that would be stationed throughout the building, but Shinra HQ was also home to a number of SOLDIER personnel. Not to mention that both he and Aerith were completely unarmed, and she didn't really seem like the fighting type anyway.

Aerith was in the middle of telling him about a Shinra scientist's interest in Zack's bizarre wagon when the door opened and Hojo stepped in, flanked by four soldiers.

"That one." He pointed at Aerith. "And hurry up. We don't have time to waste." The soldiers moved forward, and Cloud moved to put himself in front of Aerith. Before he could try to stop them, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright." She lowered her voice. "Not now. Just wait." He turned back towards her.

"But-" She put a finger to his lips, shushing him.

"Don't worry. I have a feeling that you'll get a chance soon." As Cloud tried to puzzle out what she was talking to, Aerith followed behind Hojo, the soldiers filing out behind him as they always seemed to.

Within a matter of minutes, Cloud was certain he knew what she was talking about as he felt the familiar sensation of being summoned somewhere, called to by an unidentifiable force. He'd felt it before at the church, though it was far more severe then. It seemed she really had healed him. Knowing that the only things Hojo genuinely seemed to care about were his experiments, and what would happen if his specimens were lost, Cloud clutched at his head as though he were in pain, and after a few moments, dropped to the floor.

_Just have to wait._

* * *

Hojo was observing the specimen that he was planning to use for his breeding program for the Ancient when one of the no-name scientists who were supposed to assist him rushed into the room and stopped before him, panting.

"Professor," He rushed out. "The specimen from the Clone Project collapsed in his cell. They caught it on the security cameras and we came to inform you immediately."

"You came to me before checking on the specimen's condition? Idiot!" When they didn't move, he raised his voice in frustration. "Well, what are you waiting for!? Go make sure the specimen is undamaged you fools!" As the two ran from the room in borderline terror, Hojo sighed in annoyance. He really needed more competent assistants.

Little did Hojo know that, by pulling the guards away from the primary security center, and in turn the cameras throughout the building, he was giving two eco-terrorists and an ex-SOLDIER all the time they needed.

* * *

AN: Well, there we are. The rescue has started. Next time, we get to see the rescue, have a reunion or two, and hopefully see a nod or two to another certain game series that I'm fond of.


	10. The Rescue

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.

AN: Well, here's the update. Told y'all it was longer than usual. This was actually supposed to be out earlier, but a couple of scenes didn't feel right to me, so they went through a bit of a rewrite. It's not up yet, but if you're interested, I'll be talking about what I changed, why I changed it, etc, etc. in my forums in the next day or two. I'm also getting more of the item information and a few other extra goodies ready for the "FFVII Fanfic Extras" section of my forum, for anyone who's actually looking at the things. Of course, pretty much nothing besides a few BC character biographies is actually official, but I figured I'd keep posting some of my thoughts/theories on that kind of thing up. Anyway, you're probably here to read the story, not to listen to me rant. So...

* * *

Lying face down on the ground, Cloud heard the door open, and two pairs of footsteps running towards him. As they came to a stop, he forced himself to relax. No sense in alerting them before they were close enough. In fact, it sort of went against the whole point of faking unconsciousness.

The guard accompanying the scientist held his hand up, pulling his sidearm from its holster. He slowly walked towards the fallen prisoner, and staying at arm's length, cautiously reached his left hand forward to check the boy's pulse. As soon as his fingers made contact with the blonde's neck, the boy rolled to the left, grabbed the guard's extended hand, and flipped him over towards the wall.

Jumping to his feet, Cloud grabbed the scientist before he could shut the door, and planted his fist into the man's face. As the scientist fell to the ground unconscious, Cloud turned back towards the recovering soldier. Running across the room again, he kicked the man in the ribs, knocking him into the air and against the wall.

He picked through their pockets for a moment to find any keys or tools they had that could be useful, before walking out and locking the cell behind him. As he left the containment center, he hunched down, making sure to keep silent. As he reached the end of the small hall leading from the containment center to the main hallway, he peeked around the edges of the wall. Seeing that the coast was clear, he began making his way to the main laboratory for the science department, where they would undoubtedly be holding Aerith.

When he arrived in the first floor of the laboratory, he got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, and before he knew it, he was walking towards a chamber near the corner of the room. He stopped near the entrance, and pulled himself up to look into the small window in the chamber. Seeing the all too familiar alien being inside, his eyes widened in shock, though he knew he shouldn't have been surprised. After all, why wouldn't Shinra keep a closer eye on Jenova after the incident at Nibelheim?

As he stood looking at the chamber containing the alien, Cloud heard voices coming in is direction. Frantically looking around, he saw something that he could probably use to his advantage. It was a long shot, but…

Moments later, two Third Class SOLDIERS walked through the science department, leaving their most recent appointment with the professors due to the strange phenomenon that seemed to be affecting everyone in their ranks.

"Man, this is strange." The first one was rubbing his forehead under his helmet.

"Yeah, it's pretty messed up."

"And to make it worse, they sent out all the Firsts and Seconds. What is everyone supposed to do if someone finds out that half of SOLDIER is out, and the rest of us might pass out at any second? I mean, what about those AVALANCHE people?"

"I know. I mean holy crap, who's running this army?"

"Things were so much better when Director Lazard…" The man paused as they reached the odd chamber with the alien creature that nobody was willing to ask about, and looked towards a corner in the opposite end of the room. He was almost certain he'd seen something move. "Did that thing just…Nah, that's ridiculous. Must've been my imagination."

Once the two had left, Cloud lifted the cardboard box and wiped the sweat from his brow. He'd taken the idea from an old series of fiction books he'd read as a child and teenager. He hadn't honestly expected that to work.

Yeah. I wouldn't complain about having my own personal Otacon to feed me information either.

He wasn't able to relax for long, however. Almost as soon as he'd begun to move, he felt the familiar pulling sensation for the second time in less than an hour. And this time, it was stronger than ever. Of course, Cloud could have figured that out even if he wasn't capable of feeling the call. Because mere seconds after he felt it, the chamber containing Jenova suddenly exploded outward, and a sharp piece of debris sliced through the air, raking across Cloud's cheek before planting itself in the wall. As Cloud clutched at the injury, trying to stop the blood flowing down the side of his face, he heard a shriek from the chamber, and several tentacles latched onto the side of the chamber as Jenova freed herself from her imprisonment. The headless alien quickly turned in his direction, it's cells already rapidly reproducing to form a head where its previous one had been, and dashed over in a blur. As one of the appendages wrapped around his neck, Cloud was almost certain he was going to die.

However, as the creature's head finished regenerating, it pulled itself closer until they were face to face. Cloud suddenly felt a strange sort of kinship with the creature that he couldn't explain as the strangely beautiful face, stolen from a Cetra woman thousands of years earlier, continued to examine him, seeming to look through him more than at him. After a short time, another of the creature's tentacles reached up to cover the wound on his cheek, and he could actually feel his flesh repairing itself.

As the alien finished healing his injury, the tentacle loosened its grasp, and the creature dropped him to the ground, before dragging itself away. Shaking his head to get his bearings straight, he pulled himself up onto a knee. Then the alien caught his eye yet again, as it began screeching and flailing about, before charging towards the elevator, ripping through the armored gate without pause, and leaping upwards into the elevator shaft.

Just as it left, the two SOLDIERS from earlier charged back into the room, weapons drawn. They looked between Cloud and the tank that had been carrying Jenova with suspicion, before taking in his uniform.

"Sir!" The two snapped to attention, and the one on the right addressed him. "We heard a commotion, Sir. Is something wrong."

Wha…Right, the uniform. Guess they haven't heard about the new prisoners yet. Either way, stopping that thing should probably take priority. "The, uh, specimen woke up." Yeah, that sounds really SOLDIER-like. Idiot. Taking on a more authoritative tone, he tried to sound a little more professional. "It regained consciousness as I was arriving to report to Professor Hojo. It looks like it was going to the upper floors." As he finished his explanation, the sounds of gunfire, alongside several screams of terror, erupted from the floor above them, and he turned to the one at the left.

"You. Call for reinforcements. And you," He turned to the SOLDIER who'd addressed him before. "Come with me. We have to get to the President."

"Sir!" The soldier that was supposed to be calling reinforcements flipped his sword, holding the hilt towards Cloud. "You might need this. I'll get help as fast as possible."

He nodded towards the young man, and began running for the stairs, followed by the second SOLDIER. The elevator was probably useless by this point, considering a very angry alien had just ripped its way through the shaft. When they opened the door to the upper levels of the laboratory, the room was in complete chaos. Scientists were trying to escape in any way they could, and the few guards stationed in the area had arrived and were trying their hardest to stop the rampaging alien.

To Cloud's surprise, Aerith hadn't attempted to leave during the chaos. In fact, she'd apparently found a nice space behind a wall, just away from the action, and was busy healing any of the people unfortunate to get caught in the crossfire. He also made note of the strange animal with red-orange fur that was dragging an injured guard towards her position, holding the soldier's uniform in its mouth.

Before he could step towards Aerith, the SOLDIER at his side fell, clutching the right side of his face. It seemed a stray bullet had managed to find a target in the man's eye. Hauling the man over his shoulder, much like Zack had done for him just days earlier, he ran to Aerith's side just as she finished healing yet another unfortunate soldier's wounds. Laying the man down and letting Aerith get to work, he glanced around the wall to see how the guards were holding out against Jenova.

To put it simply, they looked like they were pretty much screwed.

"What is that?" The flower girl asked, though her attention was focused more on the SOLDIER who'd accompanied him.

"Jenova." He would never forget the first time he'd seen it in the Nibelheim reactor. "An alien or something. One of Hojo's favorite pets." Speaking of Hojo, where did that maniac get off to?

The animal had reached them, and laid the soldier down nearby before going to look around the wall.

"Thanks Nanaki. H-"

"You named him?" How long had she been up there? It was an odd time to go around naming Hojo's specimens.

The animal looked at him, somehow looking offended. "No, actually. My mother would be the one who gave me that name."

It just talked. "…It just talked."

"Cloud!" The young woman admonished. "Don't be rude!"

"It's alright, ma'am. I get that rather often." He turned to Cloud. "Yes, I can speak. I'll speak all you wish, once we get out of this predicament."

"…Right." Shaking his head, Cloud looked back towards their main problem, only to pull back behind the wall when the alien gave out a roar, sending the occupants of the room flying in all directions, before charging up the stairs. As the others began picking themselves up, Cloud turned to Aerith.

"I have to stop that thing. You two clean up here." Not waiting for a response, and trying not to step on any of the injured or unconscious victims laying about the room, he made his way towards the stairs. Along the way, he met no resistance. Only a mass of dead bodies strung along the floor. Apparently all of the guards on the upper levels had traveled downwards in an attempt to stop Jenova before it could get very far, which meant that all of the poor office workers must've been nearly defenseless when it broke the defenses below.

He was nearly up the stairs to the President's office when he heard the familiar, terror-inspiring voice of the man he'd once admired more than anyone else on the planet.

"Mister President. You haven't changed at all, have you?" The silver-haired SOLDIER of legend was standing in front of the President's desk, blade extended across the desk to the side older man's throat.

"S-Sephiroth! Impossible! How!?"

"You're after the Promised Land." Sephiroth twisted the blade, allowing the sharpened edge to slightly pierce the older man's throat, drawing a small trickle of blood. "That's something I can't allow."

"Why? You have no reason to protect it! I-I'm sure I could offer you something? What would you like? M-maybe a cut of the profits? Or control of a country? I practically own the world! I could give you whatever you want! So please, just name anything! What is it you want!?"

The ex-SOLDIER smiled, drawing his sword back. As the President began to let out a breath, Sephiroth's arm shot forward, driving the blade into the President's chest. He lifted the man into the air, ignoring the screams of pain.

"To become a god. The Promised Land will be mine, one way or another. Goodbye, Mister President." As he pulled the Masamune from the man's chest, allowing him to drop to the desk, his eyes shifted back towards the stairs, and his grin widened. Spinning and raising the blade in one swift motion, he blocked the incoming strike and grinned at the young man in the SOLDIER uniform before him.

"You…Seem familiar."

"Sephiroth!" Bastard!

"Ah, yes. Now I remember you. Cloud, wasn't it? I'm afraid we don't have any time to play, today." He tightened his grip on the blade and pushed forward, throwing Cloud across the room and into the wall with a crack. Lowering his blade, he turned back towards the window and began to lift into the air, spreading his arms and looking towards the sky.

"The Reunion has begun. And with it, my ascension. Look towards the North, if you wish to make an attempt to stop us. Which you will, I'm sure. We'll be waiting." With that, a blast of energy shattered the windows, sending glass flying in all directions, and Sephiroth flew through the air, quickly disappearing into the darkness of the night sky.

* * *

"Stupid, no good Shinra scumbags. Filthy, useless-" As Barret continued the tirade, condemning Shinra with every insult and curse word known to man, as well as a few that Tifa was pretty certain he'd made up on the spot, they finally reached the entrance to the building at the top of the stairs.

"Hm, not even locked." Zack pushed the door open slowly, taking a glance outside. Upon seeing that the room was empty, he pushed the door open the rest of the way and walked out, looking around in confusion. "That's convenient. You'd think they'd at least lock the door from the stairwell that goes almost to the top of the building. Weird."

And stepping towards the elevator, was promptly plowed over by a frail looking woman who was probably a secretary in the building. Which was pretty surprising to the young SOLDIER, all things considered.

"Hey, what's the rush?"

"Monster!"

"Monsters? Hey, what monsters?"

"O-one of the experiments escaped! I need to get out!" Actually shoving the man aside, the young woman continued running towards the elevator, ignoring the still baffled SOLDIER behind her.

How the heck did she actually push me? Oh well. Looks like Hojo let another experiment out to see what it could do. Guess he'll never learn. Of course, Zack failed to acknowledge that the last time some specimens had escaped, it had in fact been he who had released them. Hojo had simply amused himself by sending the young SOLDIER into the fray by telling him there were free items in the cells. Naturally, Zack hadn't been able to resist the lure of free equipment and items.

As Barret sat, catching his breath yet again, Tifa walked up behind Zack and gave him a pat on the back to get his attention.

"What was she saying about experiments?"

Before Zack could answer, they heard a roar from above. Not even bothering to share a glance, the trio made for yet another staircase. Strangely, Barret didn't say a word. It wasn't hard to figure out what floor they needed to stop at. When they arrived, there were bodies strewn about the entire area. Some were in decent condition, while others most definitely weren't still among the living. It also didn't take long for Zack to see a familiar young woman trying to help them, which honestly didn't surprise him.

"Aerith!" She turned to Zack, and nearly stood to move to him as a series of emotions played across her face, but caught herself and simply gave him a sad smile before turning back to the injured man in front of her.

Right. Now's not the time for that kind of thing. "Aerith, have you seen Cloud? A couple years younger than us, uniform like mine, blond hair, kinda quiet?"

She nodded and stood, apparently having finished what she was doing, then turned to embrace her formerly missing boyfriend. He took a few seconds to return the hug, but pulled away.

"We were in the same cell. He came through a few minutes ago." A large red dog…cat..thing, Zack wasn't quite certain, landed in next to them, turning its head towards Zack.

"The one you mentioned followed the creature that did this. I believe it was heading towards the president's office."

It just talked. "…It just talked."

"Zack!" Aerith still somehow managed to make it obvious that she was angry without actually looking or sounding angry. Knowing what the tone could mean for him, Zack quickly backpedalled.

"Sorry, sorry! I'm just not used to seeing talking animal-cat-dog things."

Aerith looked as though she was about to say something else, but stopped as the animal nudged her leg.

"It's alright, Miss Aerith. I mentioned that it's a rather common reaction." He turned back towards the others. "My name is Nanaki, but you may call me Red XIII, if you wish."

"…Right. Anyway, sorry about that, but we really need to find Cloud. Like now."

Having seen what happened in the floors below, when they arrived in the President's office several minutes later, the violent scene before them wasn't that surprising. President Shinra was laid across the front of his desk, blood pouring out across the top. The entire office was ruined, and Cloud was lying on his back across the room, the wall above him cracked and broken.

"Cloud! Are you alright!?" Tifa ran over to him, kneeling beside the stunned blond.

"Yeah," He put his hand to his forehead. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." He began to pull himself up, trying to collect his thoughts. Sephiroth…

Meanwhile, something else had caught the others' attentions. Barret walked up to the desk, almost as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"He's dead. The president of Shinra is dead…"

Tifa walked up behind him, brushing past his shoulder to look at the body, as the others walked over to join them. She glanced over the older man's body, pinned to the desk by the blade.

"Somehow…I thought I'd be happier." She'd thought that with the President's death, an inevitable occurrence if Avalanche was to succeed, she would feel relieved that the company's reign would be finished, or at least set back for a while. But the way he was now, impaled against his own desk…He just looked like a normal old man.

As Avalanche looked over the President's body, they heard a scuffling sound to their left, and an old, wide man ran towards the stairs. Before he could get far, Barret grabbed his arm as he rushed by, and threw him back in front of their group. As he pulled himself up to his knees, the man started babbling at them.

"P-p-please don't kill me!"

"Oh calm down, Palmer. We're not gonna hurt you." Zack walked up to the man, looking down at him. "Now what happened."

"S-Sephiroth! It was Sephiroth!"

That claim caught the attention of everyone in the room. Zack grabbed Palmer by the shirt, lifting the heavy main into the air. "Don't feed me that garbage. Sephiroth is dead. I saw it myself."

"He's not lying." Zack turned to Cloud in surprise, not expecting him to support Palmer's claim. With a combination of fear, confusion, and anger etched on his face, Cloud continued. "I saw him myself. Even spoke with him. There's no doubt in my mind that Sephiroth was standing in this office."

Palmer was pulling at Zack's arm in desperation. "I told you! Why would I lie? What good would it do me now? I didn't just see him, I heard his voice too! I'm telling you, it was him! H-He said that he wouldn't let Shinra have the Promised Land."

"So what," Barret scratched the back of his head. "Is he a good guy then?"

"No," Cloud and Zack both spoke at the same time. Cloud nodded to Zack, letting him continue. He was always the more vocal of the two. "Maybe if it was before Nibelheim, but not now. It has to be something else." As he said it, Palmer took off towards the balcony exit, and they finally noticed the helicopter closing in on the building. Barret cursed, slamming his fist down on the desk.

"Rufus! I forgot about him."

"Who's Rufus?" Tifa was sure she knew the name from somewhere.

"President Shinra's son." Barret's anger was clear. Their biggest concern with Shinra was finally gone, and in a matter of hours he'd already been replaced. "They say he's been on some kind of assignment where nobody could find him for years now."

"I'm afraid I only know his name." Red XIII spoke up. "Though I have heard rumors."

Tifa walked over to the office window, watching the approaching helicopter. "The president's son…I wonder what he's like."

"Well," Aerith walked up behind Tifa. "I heard that nobody's ever seen him bleed, or even cry. They always act like he's almost not human."

The helicopter finally reached the building, and they made for the balcony. When they arrived, Palmer was jumping into the hovering helicopter, with Rufus looking thoughtfully towards his father's office.

"So, Sephiroth was actually here. Hm." He turned towards the group. "And who might all of you be?"

"I'm Cloud. I was with Shinra's military."

Zack pointed towards himself with a grin. "Zack Fair, former SOLDIER."

"I'm from Avalanche! So you better watch yourself!"

Tifa's response was a little less animated. "Same here."

Rufus turned towards Aerith and Red XIII.

"A flower seller from the slums."

"A maniac's newest research specimen."

"Hm." Rufus swept his hair back with a careless expression. "What an interesting little group. Well, I suppose it's only right that I introduce myself. I'm Rufus Shinra," He bowed his head a little. "The President of Shinra Inc."

"Bull!" Barret waved his gun arm at the man. "You only president 'cause your old man bit the big one!"

"Nonetheless, I'm the President now. Allow me to give you my appointment speech." He walked over to Tifa, brushing her bangs to the side.

"My father tried to control the world through money. It seemed to be working. Perhaps it was." He walked towards Aerith, turning his head towards her as he passed in front of her.

"The population believed that the Shinra Company would protect them. And it did, for the most part." He continued his pace, and stood in front of Barret, turning to look into the larger man's face.

"Work at Shinra, and you'll get a decent paycheck. If terrorists strike, Shinra will hunt them down. If there's a war, Shinra's troops will be on the front lines and at home, protecting you with their lives. If there are criminals, Shinra will persecute them. If there's a disaster, Shinra will give you aid." He turned, and walked towards the railing, looking out over the city.

"It looks perfect on paper, doesn't it? But that's not how I do things. I'll control this world with fear. My father's methods were effective enough, but were far too costly when it came to funding and resources." He turned back towards them, raising his hands in an exaggerated shrug.

"All it takes to control the minds of the weak is a little fear. There's no point wasting so much unnecessary effort on them."

Tifa leaned towards Aerith, lowering her voice. "He likes to hear himself talk, doesn't he?" Aerith couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"Guys." Zack stepped forward, giving the sword he'd retrieved from the soldier back on the train platform a swing. "You go on ahead. I'll handle this."

"But-" Cloud started, but stopped as Zack pulled the small piece of lightning materia from the buster sword, and held the small orb out to him.

"Take this. Get them somewhere safe. I'll catch up." Cloud hesitated, but took the materia, and followed the group back inside.

* * *

As Cloud and Co. arrived at the elevator, Cloud paused, looking back towards the steps. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned to find Tifa with a concerned expression.

"What's wrong?"

"I just…I don't feel right leaving like this. I'm going to stay."

"I'm not leaving if you're not."

Red XIII stepped forward, tail flicking back and forth. "Barret and I could escort the lady out, if you two would like to wait."

Cloud nodded at him, and looked to Barret and Aerith. "Could you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Jus' don't make a scene."

"Cloud, Tifa?" Aerith stepped forward. "Thank you."

Aerith, Barret, and Red XIII entered the elevator, and the two turned back towards the stairs to wait for their companion. Minutes later, they began rushing down the stairs at the sound of shattering glass and gunfire. Reaching the elevator on the floor below, Cloud lifted his sword, and tore through the doors. Looking down, they could see a strange flying machine of some kind firing at their friends. Thankfully, Aerith seemed to be maintaining some kind of protective barrier.

Cloud was preparing to jump down when Tifa grabbed his arm. She pointed a little ways into the distance, where he could see the flashing lights indicating Shinra's local police force heading towards the building. And if they were coming to Shinra Headquarters, the military units in the city probably wouldn't be far behind.

"Go find something to do about them. I'll help the others."

"What? Tifa, I can't let-"

"Just hand me the materia. I have a plan." He hesitated, but opened his fist, letting her take the small orb. He looked down, placing a hand on his waist.

"So what's this pla-" He looked up at the sound of Tifa running, and ran towards the window as she hurled herself down the elevator shaft. As she neared the machine attacking the group, he saw a green glow appear as electricity began cackling around her fist, and she plunged her fist forwards into the top of the machine. As the machine began to shake and rumble, Tifa jumped to the elevator to join the team, and the machine exploded in a burst of flames and debris. Cradling the arm that she'd used to destroy the weapon, Tifa looked upwards towards Cloud, and gave him a nod.

* * *

"So, you must be SOLDIER First Class, Zack Fair. I've heard about you from Tseng. Some say you were the best in the organization. Well, if we exclude the legendary trio, of course. But Sephiroth is no longer under our employ, and Angeal and Genesis are gone, aren't they?"

"Thanks to Shinra."

"Indeed. But their fates are ironic, are they not? The real hero is believed to have been a monster and a traitor, the conflicted rebel yearning for recognition died alone in obscurity, and the murderer is remembered by all as the hero of Shinra." He let out a short laugh.

"How could you think that's funny? Shinra has been behind the destruction of so many good people. Sephiroth, Genesis, Angeal, Lazard…Don't you care at all?"

"What is there for me to care about? If they were so inclined to betray Shinra, then their removal simply solved a problem that I would have to have dealt with eventually anyway. As for my half-brother…I'll admit that I would have preferred it if Director Lazard hadn't been lost. He was as devious, manipulative, and competitive as I was. That's probably why I respected him so much. Almost all of Shinra's executives are power hungry, but Lazard was at least competent. Most of the others have lost their touch."

"Your…brother? Lazard was your brother, and you still don't care?"

"Is that why you want to fight me? Do you believe killing me will somehow avenge your comrades?"

"…I guess. Maybe that's part of it. But we can't let you have the Promised Land. You, or Sephiroth."

"I suppose this means we can't be friends, then." With that, Zack jumped forward, bringing the Buster Sword down in an overhead slash. His eyes widened in surprise as Rufus suddenly reached into his coat, and pulled out a strangely designed shotgun. Bracing the top of the weapon with both hands, Rufus brought the shotgun up, blocking the SOLDIER's strike with the underside of the weapon.

Despite the obvious strain on his face, Rufus wasn't giving any ground. The blond man twisted his rifle, firing several times as Zack pushed the shotgun with his sword to force the shots away. Moments later, Zack broke off the attack, jumping backwards a few feet. He looked over the president for a few moments, before noticing his eyes.

"You…"

"Went through the SOLDIER procedures? Yes. Not to the same extent as some SOLDIERS, and I haven't had the same training as you, but my father wasn't a complete fool. He wanted to ensure that he would have a successor upon his death, and he certainly didn't want an illegitimate son like Lazard in charge, so he needed to keep me alive. Hojo deemed me fit for the process."

No one had ever seen him bleed or cry…It does make some sense.

Rufus gave a quick chuckle, before sweeping his hair back again. "I would love to continue this, but I'm afraid I have other matters to attend to. That's all for today." Backing towards the ledge, Rufus gave Zack a salute, before turning and jumping to grab the runner of the helicopter. As Rufus took off, Zack began to head after the others.

It was definitely time to get out.

* * *

AN: Well, there ya go. Hope it was up to expectations. Remember, the author loves it when people R&R.


	11. The Escape

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.

AN: Sorry for the long wait. I don't really have any excuse besides, for some strange reason, being unable to simply sit down and write the thing. Anyway, hope y'all enjoy, and again, I'm really sorry for the wait. For anyone following my Harry Potter story, or Reversal (One of my Naruto stories), you might want to check my profile if you haven't already. Not sure if anyone reading this is reading those, but I thought I'd let you know.

NOTE: My forums have finally been updated with the things that I said I was going to post on the last update. Again, sorry for the lateness on that one.

"Talking"

_Thoughts_

* * *

Zack watched as Rufus' helicopter began to move away from the building, and considered trying to bring it down for a few seconds before deciding that it wasn't worth the little time they probably had before reinforcements arrived at Shinra Headquarters. He ran back through the office and through the reception areas below, towards the elevators. He had to admit that, while he understood the reason, the company's refusal to put a stairwell leading to the president's floor had always been annoying.

Arriving at the elevators, he noticed the damaged door, and a tinge of worry passed through his mind.

_Well that can't be good._

Looking down through the ruined elevator shaft, he was relieved to see that while there were signs of a struggle, he couldn't make out any signs that the others had been hurt. Of course, his relief disappeared as soon as he heard the roar of gunfire and several explosions from below. Taking a breath, he jumped into the former elevator shaft, bracing himself for the inevitable impact and, for once, thanking Hojo's twisted mind for coming up with the power-enhancing SOLDIER treatments.

* * *

"Well, anybody got any bright ideas? Cause I'm out." Barret leaned around the corner and let out another small burst of fire, which the soldiers gathered outside ducked away to avoid. "Plus, I'm startin' to run outta ammo."

"How much longer do you think you can keep this up? If you just fire in small bursts, I mean." Tifa peered around Barret, trying to get a better view of their problem as Nanaki and Aerith sat along the wall next to them, both taking a moment away from searching for a solution to listen to his reply.

"If I don't fire much? Probly about an hour. Lil' less. How 'bout you?"

Tifa pulled away from the side of the wall, and rolled the green materia around in her hand for a moment.

"I'm not sure. I'm not starting to feel any strain yet." She wasn't an expert on materia, but she knew that it drew at least a little power from the person using it. Nothing compared to the amount it pulled from the planet, but still enough to wear a person out if used too much. Of course, she hated that it drew power from the Lifestream at all, but in the long run, the small sacrifice for using materia would be worth putting Shinra out of the Mako Energy business.

"Well, we better think a' somethin'. I don't think they're gonna keep waitin' for long." Hearing something hit the ground behind them, he twisted to face the elevator, gun-arm raised. Seeing Zack stretching out, he turned back towards the entrance, and fired off a few more shots as the men outside began to move from their cover.

"'Bout time you got here. Where's spiky?"

"Spiky? Wait, you mean Cloud? He's not down here?"

"No," Tifa glanced at him worriedly, before charging up another blast of electricity, jumping towards the entrance, firing a bolt of lightning, and pulling herself back around the corner to face Zack. "He was upstairs, trying to find a way out. We thought he'd meet up with you."

"I haven't s-"

"Guys!" They looked towards the stairs, where Cloud was waving them over from the floor above. "This way, c'mon!"

"Well, looks like spiky's got a plan. How 'bout we get outta here?" Barret swung out towards the entrance, firing away, and the others ran across as the men outside ducked for cover. As they moved up the stairs, Barret backed towards the staircase himself, continuing to fire until he was clear of the entrance, then rushing up to join them.

As they reached the second floor and entered the doors in the back of the room, Cloud's plan became obvious. A good indication was that he pulled up in front of a three-wheeled truck on a motorcycle, and motioned towards the vehicle.

"Sweet! I'm in the back!" Zack ran forward, hopping into the bed of the truck and sitting at the very end.

"I'm driving!" As Tifa ran for the driver's side door, not all that far behind Zack, the others made their way to the truck. Nanaki easily leapt into the bed of the truck behind Zack, and Barret pulled himself into the bed beside him, while Aerith jogged around to the passenger side door.

When he saw that all of them were in the truck, Cloud pulled forward, driving up yet another set of stairs. The others followed behind him, and when he pulled to a stop and pointed towards the window at the opposite end of the room, Tifa gave him a nod. Cloud took a breath and drove as fast as he could towards the window, slamming through with ease, and falling towards the highway below the window that would lead out of Midgar. Seconds later, the truck landed behind him, the yells from the back of the truck a combination of fear from Zack and Barret, and joy from Zack.

As they began making their way down the highway, Cloud honestly believed they might've given Shinra's local "police force" the slip back at the headquarters. As it was, he was sorely disappointed when he heard gunfire from behind him. Glancing back, he saw that Zack was holding the Buster Sword vertically at the back of the bed of the truck with one hand, while Barret leaned to the side and fired at the men following them on motorcycles.

For a moment Cloud wondered how Shinra had managed to catch up to them so quickly, but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind as a bullet ricocheted off the front of his motorcycle, and he dodged to the side as three motorcycles came up a ramp to his left, each with one soldier driving, a second armed soldier sitting behind them.

Without hesitating, he pulled his sword from the "sheath" on his uniform, and jammed it into one of the drivers. As the motorcycle fell backwards, knocking the one behind it down, Cloud deflected several shots from the third before swinging across in front of the third, slashing the driver across the chest as he went, and turning the motorcycle to face forward again. Turning to look at the others, he noted that they were holding out well enough, and returned his attention ahead of him. Seeing several more cycles entering the highway, he sped forward to greet them the same way he'd greeted the others.

As Cloud continued to handle the enemies coming up ahead, the others were dealing with the ones following behind them.

"Stubborn bunch, ain't they?" Barret called over the blaring of his gun-arm's fire as another of the motorcycles dropped away from beside the truck, and Tifa swerved to the side to shove another into the railing, and then moving back into the center of the road as it fell behind.

Lying down in the bed of the pickup, unable to provide too much aid in a battle requiring range or shielding, Nanaki couldn't help but agree with Barret's claim.

"They are rather persistent."

As he deflected yet another shot, and ducked back behind the Buster Sword, Zack hollered back to the other two.

"Yeah, I know. Boring, eh? They're sure not trying anything new."

Even as he said it, there was a deafening banging sound from behind them, and they were tossed to the side of the truck as it dodged left to avoid an explosion just in front of them. Zack, Barret, and Nanaki peeked around the Buster Sword while Tifa and Aerith looked into the mirrors, and Zack cursed his tendency to jinx things.

"The hell is that thing! A damn tank!?"

"Yeah…" Zack shrugged sheepishly, glancing to Barret. "That might be a bit of a problem."

"It's a freakin' tank!" Yeah, that was the reaction Zack had expected. Not that he blamed him. He wasn't certain that he'd call the thing a tank, but he wasn't sure how else to describe the six-wheeled behemoth following behind them.

"I know it's a tank, whattya want from me!?"

"Um, gentlemen?" Nanaki's voice was nervous as he glanced back around to the tank.

"You're the big, tough SOLDIER man! Blow it up or somethin' why don't ya!"

As another explosion roared just to their left, and Tifa swerved to avoid it as the shrapnel pelted the barrier Aerith had erected around the side of the truck, Nanaki spoke up again.

"I really think we should focus on the problem at hand." The problem being that the "tank" was closing in on them rather quickly, and seemed to be preparing to fire yet again.

"How am I supposed to blow it up? I don't carry bombs around or something! You're the eco-terrorist, why don't you handle it!"

Cloud slowed down and pulled up beside the driver's side of the truck, reaching his hand towards the window and saying something that Nanaki couldn't make out.

"Terrorist!? We ain't no terrorists! We're fightin' for the planet that Shinra's killin'!? If we don't, the whole planet could die!"

Nanaki watched as Cloud began to fall behind, grasping a small green orb in his hand, and pushing it into his blade before twisting the motorcycle to the side, facing the "tank," as Barret had dubbed it.

"Or I suppose we could just leave it to him." He decided that would be the best option. The two others sitting in the bed of the truck with him certainly weren't helping things.

Moments later, Nanaki leapt from the truck's bed as the tank's next shot neared its mark, exploding just below the back end of their ride. Catching himself and sliding along the ground for a few moments, he watched as the truck flipped upside down, Barret barely jumping from the bed as it began to flip, and Zack being thrown from the crashing vehicle with Buster Sword in hand. As Zack rolled to his feet, and Barret began to stand, Nanaki made for the truck, ignoring his aching legs, in the hopes that the two still inside weren't too bad off.

* * *

As he heard the second explosion from behind him, certain that it was in fact an explosion this time, he turned to see the problem, and his eyes widened at the sight of a massive tank making its way down the highway. He looked around the highway, hoping for some kind of solution to pop up. When he was unable to find anything that looked as though it could be of use in stopping a tank, or at least what appeared to be some kind of bizarre tank, he decelerated and brought himself alongside the driver's side of the truck.

"Tifa!" He reached his hand in the window. "Materia!"

She glanced at him in confusion for a moment, but decided that he must've had something in mind, and handed the small orb over. He gave her a nod before pulling away from the truck, and swerving around to move towards the oncoming tank, and placing the materia into the blade he'd received from the SOLDIER earlier. Accelerating as fast as he could make the motorcycle move, he sped towards his target. When he came within thirty feet of the thing, he shoved off of the motorcycle, and landed on top of the six-wheeled war machine just before it crashed into his motorcycle and fired off another shot.

As he walked across the top of the tank in a crouch, he realized that it was unmanned. Not a major problem for his plan, but still annoying, seeing as he doubted that he could take out the engine itself from the top of the vehicle, and trying to lower himself under it might take too long. As this thought flashed through his mind, he lifted his sword, and stabbed it into the top of the vehicle.

He'd never used materia before, but Zack had explained it to him back when they both worked for Shinra. He focused for a moment, trying to focus on the materia's energy, and felt the materia's power course through him as the electricity traveled through his blade into the vehicle below him.

Alarms suddenly started blaring, and the tank's emergency brakes activated, bringing it to a screeching halt just a dozen feet in front of the wrecked truck that Avalanche had been driving. As it began to come to a halt, the sword came loose, and Cloud was thrown from the roof. He was stunned for a moment as he slammed into the ground at full speed, and flipped over the edge of the unfinished highway.

* * *

AN: A little shorter than usual, I think, but it's something, right? Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed this one.


	12. Rebels

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII. I don't own 8-Bit Theater either.

AN: Well, been a little while, hasn't it? Anyway, like I said in the latest update on Oath, for anyone reading any of my other stories, most of them should be getting updates pretty soon. I know I say that a lot, but they really should.

"Talking"

_Thoughts_

**Time Passage**

* * *

Tifa unclipped the seatbelt, thanking whatever gods she could think of that it wasn't jammed, and leaned forward as she dropped, letting out a grunt as her back hit the ground. She turned as she heard a groan from Aerith, and it was simple to tell that the girl was dazed from the impact as she began to work at the pink-clad woman's seatbelt. She heard it click, and pushed herself under the other girl as she began to drop, trying to lower her to the ground without the fall being as jarring as her own had been.

She jumped with a start as the drivers-side door was ripped off its hinges, Zack, Barret, and Nanaki leaning down to look in. She pushed Aerith towards the door, and twisted on to her stomach to begin pulling herself out as Zack lifted Aerith from the cabin. She'd just grabbed Barret's hand and gotten free of the opening when several shots rang against the side of the truck, and they all ducked towards the most well-covered areas they could, trying to get a glimpse of the attacker.

It was when she saw the "tank" that had been chasing them, trembling and crackling with electricity but still barely standing, that she realized Cloud wasn't in sight.

"Where's Cloud!"

Zack turned, looking around worriedly, and leaned over the now-recovering Aerith as more shots rang out. He seemed to curse to himself as Barret leaned around the side of the truck and fired off several shots, pulling back and looking at them with a frustrated stare.

"Thing has some tough-ass armor. Bullets are jus' bouncin' off." He looked over the gun for a moment, and turned to the group. "We need us a plan, 'cause I'm runnin' low here."

Nanaki peered through the window at the machine. "It seems slower than before." A shot went wide, scraping the side of the truck. "Less accurate as well."

Zack forced himself to calm down, considering the situation. "We have any materia?"

"No. Cloud…" Tifa trailed off.

"Got it. Well, I could probably take it out if I could get a little closer. Tifa, Red, think you could do a little distracting?"

Tifa pushed aside the somewhat morbid thoughts of what might have happened to her friend, and stretched her legs for a moment, making sure she was still fit after the crash. As Nanaki mirrored the action, she nodded an affirmative.

"Alright then. Barret?" He leaned Aerith against the side of the truck.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's jus' do this." He swung around the side of the truck, firing his gun-arm as Tifa and Nanaki took off from the other side, and began running as the "tank" attempted to target all of them. Its attention focused elsewhere, Zack leapt from behind the truck and charged it. The automated weapon seemed to realized he was coming, but by the time its weapons were readjusted, he'd already jumped on top of it, and drove the Buster Sword into the gash Cloud had left earlier.

It flailed for a moment, and the Buster Sword came lose, throwing Zack to the ground. The nearly-ruined machine began to twist towards him, but was suddenly sparking with electricity, and he could make out Cloud kneeling at the side of the bridge, right hand hanging at his side, remnants of a lightning spell fading from the other. Zack dodged around the tank, gears crackling and exploding, and saw Tifa doing the same as Nanaki calmly followed them.

As he got closer, he stopped to lift the still unconscious Aerith into his arms as Barret stood to join them. When Tifa lifted Cloud's right hand and began to look it over, he could easily make out the blood dribbling from it. Thinking about what'd happened, he decided Cloud must've grabbed one of the crane cables as he was falling. It was the only way he could have gotten back to the highway so quickly, and considering how cheap Shinra was when it came to the non-essential parts of their uniforms…Well, he wouldn't honestly find it all that surprising if it had managed to rip through the thin leather gloves.

In fact, he and Kunsel had always had a half-hearted conspiracy theory about why Shinra was so cheap when it came to their standard uniforms. They'd been convinced that the company spent less on their provisions so that their troops would have to give back half their paychecks to get some remotely decent equipment from Shinra's weapon and armor suppliers.

"Hey buddy. Had us a bit worried there. Guess you figured out how to use the materia though, eh?" He felt Aerith shift, and looked down just as she opened her eyes.

"Heya, beautiful. You alright?"

"Yes," She replied with a nod. "I think I'm okay."

Grinning, Zack lowered her to her feet. Once she'd steadied herself, she took a single glance at Cloud's hand and immediately went to examine it. Having seen the older girl's skill with magic earlier, Tifa moved aside to give her a better view of the wound. She pulled the glove off, taking care to be gentle, and the now-familiar soft green glow spread a few inches along Cloud's palm. As it faded, she looked up at him.

"I'm sorry, but that's all I can do for now. I managed to close most of the cuts, but you'll still want to keep it bandaged for a few days." Even though they didn't completely understand how Aerith was able to use magic without any materia, it wasn't too difficult to believe that she was getting tired. She'd been making shields and healing people for a while by this point, so it was bound to take some kind of toll.

"Thanks." Cloud gave her a grateful nod. "It feels better."

"So, what's the plan now?" Barret called over his shoulder as he leaned to look off the edge of the unfinished highway. "Ain't gonna be able to stay in Midgar, that's for damn sure."

Zack crossed his arms, pacing as he thought. "Let's see, the closest town to Midgar was…"

"Kalm." They glanced over at Tifa. "The nearest town is Kalm. Master Zangan and I passed through several years back, when he brought me to Midgar." She'd barely been conscious at the time, considering she'd still been suffering from her injuries at Nibelheim, but she remembered Zangan giving her some information on just about every place they'd stopped at along the way.

"Well, guess that'd be a good place to start. Better 'n standin' around on the highway waitin' for them Shinra jackasses to catch up." Barret turned back to the group. "So what's the deal with this Sephiroth guy? He killed the President, so is he tryin' to save the planet too?"

Cloud shook his head with a frown. "No. I'm not sure what he's doing, but after Nibelheim…Not a chance. He must have something else up his sleeve."

"Guys, maybe we should talk about this in Kalm." Tifa looked back across the highway towards Midgar. "I don't think we've got a whole lot of time until Shinra sends reinforcements."

"There's some cables over there. We could prob'ly use them." Barret pointed towards the edge of the road. Cloud raised his injured hand, before slipping the nearly-ruined glove back on.

"You'll wanna wrap your hands with something. Trust me on that one."

"Ahem." They looked down at Nanaki as he cleared his throat. "There could be a minor problem with that." He lifted one of his paws.

Minutes later, Nanaki was praying that the black-haired Ex-SOLDIER wasn't as clumsy as he acted, as the man held him under one arm and lowered them down the cable with the other. Barret had wrapped his remaining normal hand with his jacket, while Tifa had loaned Aerith an extra pair of the leather gloves she always kept on her. Cloud had offered to stick near Aerith, in case her magic use earlier had been more tiring than she'd thought.

"So," Zack tried to make conversation with his "passenger" as they descended. "I wouldn't mind havin' some sword-chucks back there."

Unable to ignore a bizarre statement like that, Nanaki had to ask. "Sword-chucks?"

"Yeah, there this thing from a comic that a buddy of mine showed me back when I first got into SOLDIER. Most freakin' hilarious comic series ever. See, it starts with this guy who uses "black magic" and this dumb fighter guy, and they're walking through a forest…"

He managed to amuse Nanaki with the tale until they'd all gotten to the ground below, but decided to focus on slightly more important matters. He was about to suggest splitting into groups when Barret beat him to the punch.

"So, we should probly split up. Shinra's gonna be lookin' for a big group, right?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me. I get Aerith!" Zack hopped over to the girl, looping an arm around her shoulders as she giggled.

"Hm," Nanaki walked over to the duo. "I think I'll go with them, if there are no objections."

"Aw c'mon, you know you just wanna hear more about Eight-Bit."

Tifa nudged Cloud's shoulder. "I guess that means it's you, me, and Barret then."

"Works for me. Barret?"

"Yeah, it's cool with me. And since we're on this lil adventure, we'll probly need a leader, right?" He did a few mock punches in the air, clearly trying to give them a hint.

Tifa gave Barret an apologetic smile. "Well, I think Cloud should be in charge."

Aerith quickly nodded her head. "I agree with Tifa. Cloud would make a good leader."

"B-But Aerith? C'mon, what about me?"

"Sorry Zack," She mirrored Tifa's earlier apologetic smile. "But you **do** tend to be a bit, well…"

"Impatient?" Nanaki suggested.

Tifa decided to throw in her own, for the sake of it. "Bull-headed?"

"Overactive?" Cloud chimed in with a thought of his own.

Aerith patted Zack's shoulder as he began to pout half-heartedly. "Oh, it's alright. You can be our **team** leader."

Barret seemed to share Zack's sentiments.

"Well shee-it. Awright, let's go to Kalm. You can fill us in on this Sephiroth guy at the inn there."

"So we'll meet up again at the inn in Kalm? Sounds like a plan to me! We'll go around south." Zack turned to Cloud with a small wave. "Take care, man."

He returned it with a nod, and a quick "You too."

With that, the two groups split, one going north, the other south.

* * *

**Half an hour later, Zack's group…**

Zack walked towards a glowing greenish-blue crystal with a curious expression. He'd seen plenty of these fountain-like Mako crystals that soldiers often set up camps around due to the large crystal's ability to provide magic and warmth without materia, which they'd dubbed "save points" some time before, and he was curious as to when one had sprouted up in the middle of nowhere. Normally Shinra would build a small outpost near these, or if they were in a town, they'd build a Mako Reactor nearby. They were a pretty good sign that Mako was rather abundant in the area, after all.

"Zack," Aerith's voice was a little worried. "I really don't think you should touch that."

"Oh, don't be so paranoid. I just wanna see if i-" He reached towards the glowing crystal, not taking heed of the warning. And as his hand touched it, there was a brilliant flash of green light as the area surrounding the crystal burst into smoke, and he flew several feet through the air onto his back.

Zack's vision went dark, spots of white light blinking in and out of sight, but he wasn't hurt. He was certain that he wasn't hurt. But he couldn't see anything, and he felt like he'd nearly gone deaf. He'd felt this before, somewhere. _Wait…Wutai?_ He heard Aerith say his name, through the fog in his mind, and felt a hand touch his forehead. Seconds later, he heard a different, younger voice coming from the direction of the clearing smoke.

"One, for the honor of her nation…"

_Wait…Oh, man. Not this again. She's still doing this?_

"Two, with the grace and strength of a true warrior…"

He could make out a small, familiar form that he hadn't seen in a few years, though it was more clearly feminine than it had been the last time. He turned away in boredom.

"Three, to bring Shinra to its knees…"

"I am the Great Ninja Princess of Wutai! Yuffie Kisaragi!" She finished the speech by going into a stance, putting her right leg forward, and twisting as if to throw the large shuriken in her hand.

Zack, frankly, was a little too distracted to care, having already dismissed it as another of her poor attempts at stealing from him. "Aw, man. That seriously smarts. Feels like a freakin' Wyerd stomped on my face." He rubbed the sides of his head, ignoring the young girl's "dramatic" entrance.

"H-hey! You! Are you listening to me!"

"Oh, poor Zack. Here, I'll make it better." Aerith pulled him closer, and he leaned his head into the crook of her neck. As she ran a hand through his hair, a small green glow appeared where it made contact, and Zack felt the throbbing in his head fade.

"Man, having a girlfriend with magical healing powers is so cool!"

Yuffie waved her shuriken at them with a glare. "Hey, don't ignore me! I'm the Great Nin-"

"What an odd scent." Nanaki was sniffing around Zack, picking up the scent of the smoke that had surrounded the "Save Point" with ease. "It reminds me of a plant that we used to create a rather powerful anesthetic back in my homeland. I'd never considered that it could possibly be utilized as a weapon of some kind."

"Hey, old people!"

"Yeah, that's it!" Zack realized with a smile. "I knew I recognized this. A lotta Wutai soldiers used it during the war. I don't think I've ever been that close when one got set off before though. Now I know why the norms hated it so much."

Nanaki tilted his head in curiosity. "Norms?"

"A nickname we had for people who weren't in SOLDIER. Some of 'em liked it, some didn't. It was usually a complement."

They looked over as Yuffie let out a frustrated scream, and began stomping her foot and waving the shuriken in the air.

"I said listen to me! C'mon, please!"

"Hey kid, long time no see!" As Aerith and Nanaki looked at him in confusion, she paused and looked at him for a moment, and a hint of recognition glinted in her eyes.

"You! You're that Shinra sap that kept taking my treasure!"

_I took-Well she definitely has a strange way of remembering things._ "Riiight. If you say so, kid."

"Don't mock me! I want my Bahamut materia back!"

"Your Bahamut materia? You stole that from me then sent it back in the mail! How the heck is it "your" materia!?"

"Oh, shut up! Who cares about the details? All that matters is that I want my materia back! And if you won't give it back, I want something else to make up for it!"

"Okay, first off, it's **my** materia. Second, even if I did wanna give you any materia, I don't have any on me to give you."

"Liar! I fought you a bunch of times, and you always had a lot of materia an' stuff!"

_Fought me? Now that's a laugh._ "No seriously, we don't have any materia. At all. Shinra confiscated pretty much everything I had when I stopped working for 'em."

"What! No way! B-but that means I wasted my trap!" She pointed at them with a cry. "This is _your_ fault! You better pay me back for that thing, 'cause it wasn't cheap!"

"…You set a bomb off in my face, and now you want us to pay you for it? I think you're a little confused, kid."

"If you don't pay me back, then I'll-"

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard it before."

"But I…" She began sniffling, and Zack immediately knew what was coming. "I want…" Her eyes began tearing up. "My treasure!"

"Oh, don't start. That barely even worked when you were a kid. What makes you think it's gonna work now?"

Aerith pushed his shoulder with a slight frown. "We could at least give her something."

"Indeed. She is just a little girl, after all. And she did seem to put some thought into this trap."

"Aw, c'mon! Don't tell me you're fall-" At their serious looks, he sighed, and thought it over. Finally, he came to a solution just as Yuffie let out a particularly loud wail.

"Hey kid, how's this sound? We're gonna be traveling a lot, so we'll probably come across some nice goodies. Wanna tag along?"

"C-can I…" Her cries began to die down, and she looked up at them with eyes that reminded him of a sad baby chocobo. "Can I have any materia?"

He began to protest before catching another slightly disappointed look from Aerith, and deflated a little.

"Yeah, sure. When this whole thing is over, I'll give you your pick of materia. Happy now?" Having finally gotten a promise of rewards, she lunged up, wrapping her arms around his waist with a grin.

"Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

As he felt something being pulled out of his back pocket, he pried her off of him and held her in the air by her shoulders. He glanced to his wallet, which she'd promptly dropped on the ground with a small "eep" as he'd lifted her, and raised an eyebrow.

"Um, old habits?" She gave him a sheepish grin as he set her down, and he crouched to pick up the wallet, watching her the whole time. He flipped through it to make sure nothing had been taken, not that he'd had a whole lot to take. When he found nothing out of place, he stood up and gave her a smile, and turned to his amused comrades.

"Well, you guys ready to get to Kalm?"

Aerith gave him a pleased smile, and Yuffie bounded towards Nanaki as he walked ahead of them, apparently fascinated with how "cute and fuzzy" he was.

"So," Aerith nudged his arm. "How'd you two meet?"

"Well, it's a bit of a story, but I was investigating this reactor with Sephiroth, and this message suddenly came up on my phone…"

* * *

**Meanwhile, Deep below Midgar…**

"Are you certain, brother?" The grey-haired man watched as their elder "brother" weakly stood on the platform, still wearing the tattered black and crimson uniform he'd been sporting when they'd retrieved him just days before.

"I offer my sincerest apologies. But there's still much work ahead, and I've been too heavily wounded to act so soon. You will have to move forward without me, at least for the time being." Genesis clutched his right arm as another burst of pain ran through his muscles, a remnant of his duel with the SOLDIER who had finally helped him regain his honor.

Weiss stepped forward, coming to stand next to his younger brother, and knelt before the former SOLDIER. "It was through your creation that we were born, my brother. If your wish is for us to wait, then we shall. But how will we know when the time comes to awaken you once more?"

"With broken wings, we are lifted to a place which none can reach, in a transient eternity of sorrow. One day we shall spread these wings once more, as the final melody of the dirge is complete, and calls softly to our hearts." He released his arm, lowering it towards them as if offering a gift. "You will know…My brothers."

And with that, the cavern seemed to burst into life. Weiss and Nero glanced around in confusion as the Lifestream seemed to pour through every crevice of the cavern, encircling their brother in an entrancing light. As it died down several minutes later, a heavy mist filling the room, they could see him with arms spread out to his sides, head slumped, and eyes closed, a peaceful expression etched on his face, entrapped in a sphere of water.

Turning from their sleeping brother, Nero faced Weiss with a look of concern.

"Lord Restrictor will no doubt become aware of our absence if we don't return soon. What are we to do about our plans?"

Weiss spared one last glance at Genesis, before calmly moving towards the exit, the obvious confidence in his gait soothing some of Nero's concern.

"As I told our brother, for now we shall wait. We're in no hurry to remove Lord Restrictor from power. As long as he suspects nothing, we have time to spare. In the meantime, we should await the arrival of an unrestricted recruit who might suit our needs. Besides," He looked at Nero with a grin that he'd long since learned to recognize as a sign that meant he was eager to shed blood. "My new weapons are nearly ready. Perhaps I'll finally have the chance to test them on some more worthy prey."

As his brother's dark laughter echoed through the caverns, Nero couldn't help but allow his lips to twist into a warped smile, a promise of the pain he intended to bestow upon those who had wronged his "family" in Deepground.

Yes, be it sooner or later, they would make Shinra pay for the suffering they'd inflicted on their "experiments."

* * *

AN: Well, hope y'all enjoyed, as per usual. And if you're not familiar with Lord Restrictor, or the rebellion in question, pay a visit to my forums. I should have more information up pretty soon on some of the other characters that have only appeared in certain Japan-exclusive FFVII materials (Well, unless you count youtube), the Restrictors included.

Of course, like most of the Turks, they won't play an exceptionally large part in the story. But we will be seeing little cameo appearances from them once in a while. If you're curious about the origin of Genesis' final lines for some reason, they were a combination and modification of some lyrics from "Redemption" and "Mind Forest" by Gackt, whom Genesis was based on.


	13. Peaceful Town

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.

AN: Well, we've arrived at Kalm. W00t! Thanks for the reviews, as per usual. It always makes me happy to see that people are enjoying the fic.

_Thoughts_

* * *

"…And that's when I met Barret here. After he scared out the jerks without things coming to blows, we figured we could use a bouncer like him. It didn't take me long to figure out he and the others were the ones causing trouble for Shinra, and when I offered to let them use the Seventh Heaven's emergency basement as a sort of headquarters, they let me in on things." Tifa finished her story with a smile, gladly filling Cloud in on what she'd been doing.

"So it was his idea?" Somehow, he'd thought Tifa would be the one to come up with the idea. She certainly hated Shinra enough. "Hey Barret, why do you hate Shinra so much?"

"'Cause they're screwin' up the planet! The hell else would I be doin' it for?"

_There's no way that that's the only reason._ "But there's more to it than that."

"Cloud, maybe you should let it go."

"What're you goin' on about now, Spiky?"

"It's just…Zack and me are fighting them because of what they did to us. I get why Tifa hates them too, and Aerith and Nanaki just seem to be along for the ride. But I don't get why you're here. The way you talk about Shinra just sounds more…personal. Like they hurt you somehow."

"…Guess you're hair ain't the only thing aroun' here that's sharp. Good at noticin' stuff, aren't ya? Yeah, I've got a grudge against 'em. Don't really wanna talk about it though."

Considering what he'd been through at Shinra's hands, he could hardly blame Barret for not wanting to explain what they'd done to him.

"Fair enough."

"Hey, look over there." Tifa pointed to the distance on their left, where two figures appeared to be struggling over something near a wagon. Judging by how the Chocobo strapped to the wagon was screeching and flailing, it probably wasn't a small argument between friends either.

"Looks like somebody might be in trouble."

"The hell are we waitin' for then, let's go!" They hardly needed Barret's suggestion. The trio shot towards the figures, and in moments were able to clearly make out some kind of Hound on top of a young man, apparently trying to wrestle a rifle from his hands.

"They're too close for a good shot!" With the way the two were fighting, Cloud didn't doubt it, especially with a weapon like Barret's. Materia wouldn't be much more accurate, and he didn't exactly feel like risking accidentally taking off the man's hands or anything, which left…

"Tifa, separate 'em!"

"On it!" As they began to close in on the two, she darted forward with a sudden burst of energy. The reddish-brown Hunting Hound eyes shot up at their approach, but it was unable to release the man and dodge away before Tifa's leg shot up into its side. The blow easily threw it to the side, its ribs audibly cracking with the force. It started to rise again, but quickly fell in a hail of bullets as Barret took the opening to finish it off.

When he was certain that the thing was dead, he turned back to the others as they attempted to calm the panicking traveler. The kid, or at least he was a kid as far as Barret was concerned, didn't look like much. He was about twenty-three, maybe twenty-four years old, average height, probably a little overweight for his age. A half-decent shot, if

"Oh-Oh man! Thank y'all so much! I thought I was a goner for a minute there! I-I don't know how to repay this!" Tifa shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. We're glad we could help."

"Ain't nothin' to thank us for."

"Hm."

"I, uh, I don't suppose y'all are headin' for Kalm?"

"Actually, that's exactly what we were planning."

"Think you'd be willin' to do a little escorting? I don't got too much money on me, but this hunk a' junk is full of stuff that my cousin uses to make his weapons. He's a smithy, y'know? I bet he'd be able to give ya something."

Tifa glanced over her shoulder to Barret, then to Cloud. "Boys?"

"No sense lettin' the guy go all alone after savin' him."

"No problems here."

"Well then, you've got yourself an escort, Mister…?"

"Ah, just call me Al."

"Al it is."

* * *

With about twenty to thirty minutes of travelling, much shorter than it would have been without a chocobo to pull the small wagon, the group was standing in the center of the entrance to Kalm near the only inn in the whole town. Absently petting the chocobo, Al looked over the small group.

"So ya want me to show you guys to the shop now, or…?"

Tifa looked over towards the inn, considering the two or three people that'd walked out in the few minutes since their arrival. "We should probably get a room or two first…"

"An' I need to call Jessie. Gotta check in on Marlene an' the goons, y'know."

"Hey Cloud, why don't you go with Al? We'll finish everything up here and keep a lookout for Zack."

_I don't really have anything else that I need to do._ "Sure. We'll meet back in the inn's lobby in…an hour?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Whatever you say, Spiky. I jus' wanna make my call. An' nobody forget, we're on a budget here."

After Barret and Tifa entered the inn, Cloud followed a cheery Al across the town to what was obviously the more traveler-oriented section of the town. All of the buildings along the road were obviously shops of some kind or another, and there were small stands and kiosks throughout the streets. Perhaps it wasn't as big as any market in Midgar, but he wouldn't have expected as much from a smaller town like Kalm. Al led him to a corner of the market, next to a shop labeled simply as Lino's Arms, and pulled down the door to the back of the cart, revealing about half a dozen crates.

"Think ya could gimme a hand, buddy?"

Cloud shrugged, reaching in and effortlessly lifting one of the boxes onto his shoulder. As he shifted to walk towards the shop, Al's eyes went wide and he let out a loud whoop of surprise.

"Well I'll be, you're a strong one aren't ya?"

"Hm?"

"Those things probly weight a couple hundred pounds each. Me an' my cousin usually have to carry 'em in together. Even have to get another buddy of ours to help out sometimes."

Cloud cocked his head and shuffled the box around to test its weight, but still found it far lighter than the man's claim would imply. He gave Al a little half-shrug, and mentally reminded himself to take some time to test his newfound strength out. He didn't want to accidentally hurt someone because he wasn't used to being able to pull off things like a SOLDIER, after all.

"Well c'mon in, I can at least open the door for ya." The man behind the counter inside was definitely more fit than Al, and probably a five or six years older by Cloud's estimate. There was still a clear resemblance though. They had the same green eyes, and similar brown hair, even if Al's was slightly darker. The man's surprised expression also mirrored Al's when he looked up to see someone Cloud's size hauling one of his normal shipments over his shoulder.

"You're late, Al. Who's your friend there?"

"This here's Cloud. I got attacked by a coupla hounds on the way over here, and him an' his friends saved my life. I figured ya might be able to pay 'em back for me."

The man sighed, obviously used to his cousin borrowing money to pay people back, and stuck out his hand.

"Thanks for keepin' my klutzy cousin outta trouble. The name's Kenneth Derrusian Lino, but you can call me Ken." Cloud took the offered hand, and nodded towards the crate on his shoulder.

"Where do you want this?" Ken pointed over his shoulder to a door behind the counter.

"Just put it back there by the others. Al, get out there and help me get the rest."

As the trio quickly unloaded the rest of the crates, with Cloud doing most of the actual hauling, Al filled in his cousin on exactly what had happened. And, after listening to the descriptions of the weapons that his cousin's three saviors had been using and looking over the scratched and dulled sword that the blond was carrying with him, he figured he could at least offer a free repair, or a discount on some replacements.

"So, Cloud was it? I'm afraid I don't have anything that would work with that "gun arm" that your friend has, and I don't really deal in gloved weapons, but I've got some swords and rods here that you might take a look at."

"Thanks." He pulled the sword from the magnetic "sheath" on the back of the slightly worn SOLDIER uniform, removed the materia orb, and placed it on the counter. "Think I could get anything for this?"

"Hmm, lemme see." Ken looked it over for a moment, inspecting the damage and deciding that it would be an easy fix. "It's not too badly damaged. Aside from damages, it's pretty high quality material. Wouldn't expect much less from someone wearin' one of those uniforms."

So he had recognized the SOLDIER uniform. Cloud could at least be pleased that he didn't seem interested in asking questions about it.

"Well, if you wanna sell it, I could give you about two thousand gil for it. Swords like this'd go for about three or four thousand in perfect condition, and I'd normally only buy one in this shape for about thirteen-hundred, but I figure you've earned more than regular price."

"Thanks. I'll take it. You said you had some swords?"

"Yep. Just hold on, an' I'll get a few outta the back. Hey Al, get over here and help me!" Cloud nodded an affirmative, and began glancing around the shop. The thing that drew his attention the most was a large sword on the wall above the door leading into the back, probably about the same size as Zack's Buster Sword. Considering he'd never seen the design before, even after one of his weapon-obsessed companions in Shinra's military had spent a couple years showing him every sword magazine he had, it was probably a custom job.

_Hm. That's quite an…_"Interesting looking sword." Ken heard the comment as they came back through the door, carrying four stacked boxes between them. The smith glanced at it before grinning at the blond and setting the boxes on the floor.

"Oh, that thing. Yeah, it's a work-in-progress. It's gonna be a set of swords that can join together as one blade and split apart real quick. I like to call that one the First Tsurugi."

"Tsurugi…That means sword, right?"

"Yep. It's my baby."

"Ken loves that thing. Spends all his free time on it. Not exactly the most original name we've ever thought up though."

"Ah, shaddup you klutz. Shoo, go away. Go grab some coffee or something." Al left with a laugh as Ken separated the boxes, opened up two of them, and held out a pair of swords to the blond. Cloud took the two and lifted them a little, testing the different weights.

"Now that one," He pointed to the thinner silver blade in Cloud's left hand. "is a real cutter. Probably the sharpest one I've got, an' it's a lot lighter than the others too."

Cloud nodded, tossing the blade in the air and catching it was ease. Neither was particularly heavy to him, but he could definitely feel the difference. It might as well have been a feather.

"The other one is what I like to call a crusher. It's not quite as sharp, but the blade's a lot heavier and a lot wider too. It'd probably be easier to take something down without killing it with that one, long as you're careful."

He gave the sword an experimental swing, and decided he'd prefer the larger, heavier weapon. Aside from the potential uses aside from simply using it to stab or cut, he'd seen a number of the lower class members of SOLDIER using them. They called the sword a "Hardedge" if he wasn't mistaken. He handed the silver blade back to Ken, and slipped the darker blade back on to the sheath.

"I'll take this one, if that's alright."

"Sure, sure. If we take the price of that outta your pay, it'll leave you with about twelve-hundred and fifty. I've also got a couple of rods here, if you want a backup or something."

"I don't know much about fighting with rods." _But isn't that what Aerith carries around?_ "I know someone who does, though." And the one she'd been using wasn't exactly in great condition. At least, assuming that the rod he'd seen sitting on one of the pews in the church before they'd been captured was hers.

"Well, I've got two here." He put the sword back in its case, and pulled out the rods one after the other, placing them on the counter. After testing the two much as he had the swords, he automatically ruled one of them out. Despite the fact that it appeared to be the same one he'd seen before, it appeared to be made of steel, while the other appeared to be made of mythril. And mythril was easily superior, being both a lighter and stronger metal.

"How much for the mythril rod?"

"Ah, recognized that, did ya?" He paused and looked it over for a moment, then smiled. "Well, between the cost of that and the sword, you'll come out with one thousand gil left."

_Isn't that a bit cheap?_ He voiced the opinion, and the smith just waved him off with a grin, claiming that saving that "idiot cousin" of his was more than enough to warrant some extra cash. And with their little team already low on funding, Cloud couldn't exactly complain. So, with a quick thanks and the new rod in hand and the Hardedge secure on his back, he began making his way back to the inn.

* * *

As Cloud was dealing with the smith, Barret and Tifa were dealing with their own issues in the inn. While the innkeeper had been glad to let Barret go into the back rooms for a private phone call, the middle-aged woman hadn't been quite as willing to give them three rooms. The fact that they didn't have enough on them for two rooms **and** the necessities that they would need didn't help.

"Are you sure you can't give us the extra room? I promise our friends will pay the gap when they get here."

"Sorry miss, but tourist season's starting, and I can't give out more than two rooms per group. Especially when they don't have the money, and when they're my last three rooms."

"Well, could you at least hold two of them for a little while?"

"I guess I could-"

"Hey Tifa, what's up?" She turned, relieved to see that Zack had arrived. Though she was a bit surprised to see that he'd apparently found a new addition to their little group since splitting up outside of Midgar. Zack reached down and ruffled the sixteen year old girl's hair, much to her obvious annoyance.

"This is Yuffie. She's a kid I met way back when."

"I'm not a kid!"

He ignored her complaints, grinning. "So…What's the deal?"

"We're fifteen gil short of getting two rooms without going over the limit. Happen to have any extra?"

He fished around in his pockets for a few seconds before pulling out a handful of coins, grumbling as he handed over the money. _Just fifteen gil? Man, talk about strict pricing. I've managed to get 'em to let me stay at this kinda place for half price…Of course, I was in SOLDIER at the time. Probably had somethin' to do with it._

The innkeeper handed Tifa two small keys with one of those annoyingly fake smiles, and told her where they could find their rooms. Tifa took the directions silently, not in the mood to deal with the false-polite attitude, and asked the woman to tell Barret where to find them.

The silent walk to their rooms was broken with a comment from one Yuffie Kisaragi.

"So Jugs, how do you know SOLDIER-boy here?"

When roughly half an hour had passed, Cloud returned. After several minutes of arguing, he'd managed to convince the innkeeper that he did in fact know the group that had come in a few minutes before. And, wanting to get away from the annoying woman as quickly as possible, had found their rooms with little trouble. When no one had answered the door at the first room, he'd moved to the room next door, and promptly been answered by a very bored Zack. Apparently, regardless of his feelings for Aerith, he took no joy in listening to "girl talk" for any significant period of time, and Nanaki wasn't interested in talking at all.

So naturally, after a grateful hug from Aerith upon presenting her with the new mythril rod, they'd decided to talk about Cloud's trip to the smith while waiting for their last member.

"The First Sword? That's it?"

"Yeah. Is that bad?"

"I dunno. I just expected somethin' custom like that to have a bit more flare, y'know? Like 'Hyperion' or 'Deathbringer' or something catchy like that."

"Hm. I guess." Cloud shrugged, turning to look out the window again.

"…At least they didn't call it the warthog or anything silly like that."

"Warthog?"

"It was this new jeep thing that we were testing out in SOLDIER back in the day."

"Why 'warthog?'"

"Hey, don't look at me. I **tried** to tell Heidegger that it looked more like a puma, but he just wouldn't listen."

"A puma?"

"Y'know, a puma. It's like a big cat."

"Ah." Before he could say anything further, Yuffie's laughing echoed across the room, the elder two girls patiently listening to Yuffie's stories of "triumph over Shinra" with smiles on her faces. Somehow, Zack had the feeling that most of the girl's "stories" were exaggerated tales of her many failed attempts to con him out of his hard-earned materia. Or his dignity. Whichever happened to suit her most at the time.

Moments later, Barret walked in, plopped down on one of the beds with a sigh, and let out a yawn before turning to Tifa.

"Looks like the crew's okay. They left the place to that buddy of yours while they're layin' low. Y'know, the one that helped ya come up with the whole bar idea?"

"Johnny."

"Yeah, that's him."

"Good. He'll take good care of the place."

"Hey, so what're we doing here? I thought we were gonna get some materia."

"Calm down, ya little brat."

"The child does have a point, though." Nanaki spoke up for the first time since their arrival, and probably for the first time since he'd realized that scolding Yuffie wouldn't prevent her from trying to use him as a makeshift chocobo. "We did gather here for a reason."

Barret nodded, shaking his gun-arm at Cloud and Zack. "Yeah, that's right. So what's the deal with this Sephiroth guy? Why'd he go off an' kill the president? An' how do you three know 'im?"

Cloud, Tifa, and Zack exchanged a look, and Zack started.

"Well I was in SOLDIER, so I've known him for a while now. But there's not a lot to tell about those days that you can't find in books or newspapers. The real story-"

"Starts in Nibelheim." Cloud cut in, as the group turned to him.

"It all happened five years ago, in a town called Nibelheim."

* * *

AN: You might notice a small tribute to Red vs. Blue. If you haven't noticed by now, I tend to throw in little bits dedicated to various shows and games that I like here and there. Y'know, just for fun. Originally this was supposed to be out sooner, and it was also supposed to cover part of the Nibelheim Incident. But I wasn't pleased with how that was turning out, so I messed with it a little, added some extra depth, a few extra scenes between the party, etc, etc. The next chapter will cover the entire Nibelhiem Incident as it occurred in this story. It should also be out a lot sooner, considering quite a bit of it has already been written, since I originally meant to put it in this chapter. Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed, and I'd love to hear from you all.


	14. On That Day, Five Years Ago

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.

AN: Yeah…I ended up making this much longer than I intended to. I've also taken a few liberties here and there, adding and changing a few things, and combining several of the different versions of Nibelheim (Before Crisis, Last Order, Crisis Core, FFVII) into one. So this will actually take up two chapters. Sorry for the delay, and I hope you find it worth the wait.

On a side note, I finally saw some of Advent Children Complete, and it was freaking AWESOME! It gives a little more background on Geostigma, has simply beautiful graphics, features added and extended scenes, and apparently they're going to be releasing more of the "On the Way to a Smile" novellas (Case of Yuffie, Case of Nanaki, Case of Shinra, and Case of Lifestream)

"Talking"

_Thoughts_

* * *

"It all happened five years ago, in a town called Nibelheim. After the war with Wutai was over, it was SOLDIER's job to deal with any resistance factions that popped up, like the old 'Avalanche' group. I was sixteen…"

* * *

Sephiroth watched on in amusement as the younger First Class paced about the truck in anxiety. Not that it was any surprise. Zack had always been rather excitable, so sitting still in the rather confined space for hours on end must have been grating on his nerves.

"It's sure raining hard out there." The dark-haired man glanced over at Cloud, hunching over in the corner.

"Hey man, you alright?" The blond looked up and shook his head, before leaning back down.

"Y-yeah, I'm good."

"Motion sickness, eh? Sorry man, but I can't really relate. Never been a problem for me." He voiced the question to other soldier in the back, getting a similar answer, and turned to their silver-haired leader.

"Hey Mister Sephiroth, how 'bout you? You doin' okay over there?"

"Settle down, Zack."

"Sorry man, but I'm so psyched!" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow as the dark-haired man began doing squats in what he assumed was supposed to be some kind of warm-up exercise. "See, I got this new materia the other day and I'm dyin' to try it out! It's gonna be sweet!"

_Hmph. Still…_"…Just like a kid." The younger boy pouted for a second, before assuming what Sephiroth had silently dubbed his "serious face."

"So, you going to brief us on this mission, Miiister Sephiroth?"

"…This isn't going to be a typical mission."

"Yes!"

"Excited, are we?"

"Well, yeah, I mean..."

"Hm?"

"It's just that, y'know, I joined SOLDIER because I wanted to be a big hero. Helping people out an' all that. But the war ended before I could really do all that much. I mean, there was Fort Tamblin, but since I didn't get to First Class until later I never really got any big solo jobs." _None that were on record, anyway._ "So what about you, Sephiroth?"

"…Didn't you say you wanted a briefing?"

"Oh, yeah. Let's do that."

"Hm. Our mission is to investigate an old Mako Reactor. We've been receiving reports that it's been malfunctioning, and producing monsters of some kind. Our first objective is to dispose of these monsters and ensure the safety of the town. Then we're to locate the source of this problem, and neutralize it."

"Monsters, huh? What kind of monsters?" They both knew what he was thinking. Genesis. Neither of them had ever been truly certain that the former SOLDIER was dead. After all, most First Class members had survived worse wounds than what Zack had given the man, and Genesis had never been the type to just lie down and die.

"Unknown. We don't really have any troops stationed in Nibelheim, and the civilians living there shouldn't be expected to risk themselves to confirm it for us."

"Nibelheim…" They both glanced over at Cloud's voice, curious.

"Yes," Sephiroth gave a small nod "The Mako Reactor at Nibelheim."

"Nibelheim…That's where I'm from."

"Hey, cool! So this is pretty exciting for ya, right?"

"Hmm. A hometown, eh?" The truck lurched to a stop, Zack losing his balance and falling over a box, Cloud looking as though he was about to be sick, and Sephiroth…Well, Sephiroth honestly didn't seem any different than he had moments before. So naturally, he was unsurprised when the driver's panicked voice called back to them.

"S-sir! Something just bumped into the truck! I think it's-"

"Our monster. How far are we from Nibelheim?" Sephiroth walked to the back of the truck, preparing to jump out.

"Not long sir! J-just about a mile!"

"Very well. Keep driving. You two," He pointed to Zack and the other soldier, Forra. "Stay with the truck, make sure nothing is attacking Nibelheim. We'll catch up soon. Strife, you're with me."

With that he stepped out of the back, easily landing despite their speed, and Cloud rushed to follow, momentarily ignoring his motion sickness. His landing was somewhat less graceful than his superior's, though he could at least say that he'd managed to roll into a defensive position without looking too much like a rookie. A roar from behind him jolted him into action, turning just in time to see that the large green dragon had decided that they would be less frustrating prey than a speeding truck, and had sent a jet of fire flashing towards him.

A jet of fire that dispersed upon smashing into the green barrier of Sephiroth's Protect spell, as he blurred into view in between the blond soldier and the flames.

"Strife."

"Yes sir?"

"What kind of dragon would you say this was?" As the dragon looked as though it was preparing to charge, Cloud had to wonder if this was really the right time for trivia. Then again, it **was** Sephiroth…

"Well, I-I guess, it's…" His mind flashed back to their training, when they had to learn the basic strengths and weaknesses of larger, more dangerous monsters like dragons. _Okay, okay. Native to the Western Continent, mountainous region, medium size, fire-breathing type…Sounds like it's the…_"It's a, uh, Varuna? Sir?"

"Indeed." A green glow passed over the SOLDIER's hand, and the now-charging dragon let out a cry as the ground crumbled beneath it, trapping its legs beneath the earth. "Strife, grenade. Aim for the mouth."

"O-okay?" Cloud unclipped one of the Shinra-issued grenades on his belt, pulling the pin, and waiting for Sephiroth's command. As the dragon reared its head back, obviously intent on trying to burn them alive again, the silver-haired man gave him the signal. He reared back and threw the grenade as hard as he could. The explosive sailed towards the dragon, reaching its mouth just as it let loose the next jet of flame, and promptly exploded in its face, sending blood and bone spreading across the ground around it.

"Congratulations, Strife" Sephiroth turned to him. "You've just killed your first dragon. That should look impressive on any resume, no?"

The blonde looked at him in confusion for a moment, but a sheepish grin spread across his face as he registered what the man was saying.

"Thank you, Sir. Um, should we salvage something, or…?" Dragons were, after all, becoming less and less common, and their remains could be used for countless different things. Their hides were often fire-resistant or thick enough to use for armor, some had bones sturdy enough to shape into weapons, and if rumors were true, the President had become rather taken with Dragon Meat meals. Sephiroth nodded at the question, and Cloud gave a curious glance another glare of light, blue this time, flashed over Sephiroth's arm, the dragon's remains freezing over.

"We shouldn't be in Nibelheim for more than a few days. That was a high level ice spell, so as long as its target doesn't struggle it should last for a while. We'll retrieve the remains on the way back." Yet again, Sephiroth almost seemed to read Cloud's mind, answering his question before he could speak it. Maybe he was just too easy to read. "Come. We should get moving."

"Yes Sir!" He quickly rushed into step at Sephiroth's right, walking in silence at his side for several minutes.

"No need to be so nervous, Strife." Cloud jumped at the unexpected noise, stuttering out a response.

"O-Oh, I'm not, I mean, uh…"

"You don't need to worry about getting in trouble."

"I-I'm sorry, Sir. I'm really not used to meeting people who are so…Well, I mean, you're a SOLDIER legend, Sir. And all the guys talk about how strict you are, and-" He paused as the SOLDIER chuckled, confused at the action. "Sir?"

"Hmph. Talk is talk. I've worked with Zack several times over the years, and he's still here. I won't kill you for dropping protocol." Cloud had to admit, as much as he loved his friend, the man could be a bit hyperactive when he was excited. If he couldn't drive the famous SOLDIER up the wall, there probably weren't many people who could. Cloud scratched the back of his head in a manner that reminded Sephiroth of Zack, and he nearly smiled. He'd seem Zack mimic Angeal's mannerisms several times as well while acting as his student.

"Zack has mentioned you before. I hear you wanted to be in SOLDIER."

"Yeah…" Sephiroth didn't have to see the rookie's shoulders sag to realize that he was ashamed at the claim. Even had he not been so perceptive, he'd read reports over the boy that Zack seemed to have taken on as an unofficial student of sorts. He had potential, he was physically fit enough at least, but…

"You lack confidence."

"Huh?" _Well that's __**really**__ encouraging, Sir._

"You're strong, but you lack confidence. If you want to be in SOLDIER, you can't doubt yourself. The only way to truly succeed, you have to believe that you will succeed. You'll never defeat an opponent who you aren't willing to believe you can defeat. Our pride, our honor, is all we have as SOLDIER. When we no longer have that, we become nothing more than monsters. A wise friend once showed me that."

"I just don't-"

"You could make SOLDIER, Strife." Sephiroth cut him off. "You just have to realize it first."

"I-" He knelt his head and paused, a small smile crossing his face as he considered the older man's words. "Thank you, Sir."

In comparison to killing a dragon and being praised by a living legend, Cloud had to admit that their walk to Nibelheim was dreadfully boring. Aside from a few more tips from Sephiroth about how to handle some of the creatures that he may encounter on the future, neither of them were honestly that talkative, and it seemed almost as though any smaller monsters that may have considered attacking them instinctively knew that Sephiroth wasn't a prey that they wanted to target.

And so, within less than an hour, they found themselves standing in front of Nibelheim, where Zack and the remaining soldiers were "practicing their victory poses" for later use as they waited for their comrades. Zack was overjoyed. The two who were practicing with him, on the other hand, didn't look quite as enthusiastic. Sephiroth nodded to the trio in greeting, and stepped to the head of the group before turning back to glance at Cloud.

"It's been a while since you've been back to your hometown, right? How does it feel?"

"I…I'm not really sure. It's hard to explain." He paused for a second as he considered asking how Sephiroth would feel, and had to force himself not to stumble over his words when he realized that he hadn't addressed his superior officer appropriately, and added a nervous "Sir!" to his response.

He let out a breath of relief when Sephiroth didn't seem to notice the slip, too busy gazing off into the distance. Not that he thought the older man would likely punish him for such a minor mistake, especially not when he'd been so helpful before, but he certainly didn't want to embarrass himself in front of his hero. Moments later, Sephiroth looked back at the group, and answered the question Cloud had been thinking.

"I ask because I…don't have a hometown of my own. I wouldn't know."

"Eh?" Zack tilted his head in confusion. "What about your parents?"

"My mother's name was Jenova. I never knew her. She died shortly after giving birth to me. As for my father," He broke off into silence before letting out an unnervingly humorless chuckle, holding up a hand as if brushing the matter aside. "It's irrelevant. Come on, let's go."

Though Cloud and the others didn't seem to recognize the name, Zack was even more confused than before. _His mother's name is…Jenova? The same one Genesis was talking about? So…what was so important about her cells?_

They'd barely entered the town when a young, and admittedly rather well-endowed brunette ran up to them, clearly anxious to see the new arrivals.

"Hey! Are you the SOLDIERs sent here for the investigation?"

"Yeah, that's us. My name's Zack Fair, SOLDIER First Class. Nice to meet ya." He gestured to himself with his thumbs, flashing a cheeky grin.

"Hmm…"

"Huh?" _Aw, come on! Why don't I ever run into anybody that's impressed with that?_

"Are there a lot of First Classes?"

"Not really. We're a pretty small group. There's only a few of us out there."

"Are there only two of you here?"

_Only two? How often do you hear someone say "only two" SOLDIER First Class are here? _"Yeah, it's just the two of us. Me and Sephiroth."

"Oh. Well…okay." And with that, she was off again, seemingly uninterested in whatever else they might have had to say.

_Huh? Well, that's odd. Even if they didn't get excited over the rest of us in SOLDIER, most people would go nuts if they heard that Seph was in town. What an odd kid. Cute though…_

"Listen up." They turned to the silver-haired man as he spoke. "We'll begin our investigation of the Nibelheim Reactor tomorrow morning. You should all get to sleep early." He turned to enter the building, but stopped at the door, tilting his head back towards Cloud.

"Oh, and there's no problem if you want to go visit your family and friends. Just be sure not to take too much time. We may have a long day ahead tomorrow."

Zack took a glance around the small town as Sephiroth entered the inn, and gave it an appreciative grin. It reminded him a lot of Gongaga, aside from the slightly chilly temperature. And the somewhat subdued atmosphere was different from his hometown, but he figured that'd probably change once he and Sephiroth had dealt with the monsters that had been harassing the town.

"Hey, mister, you're the SOLDIER right?" Zack grinned at the young boy that ran up to him, striking a "heroic" pose.

"Heck yeah, that's me alright. SOLDIER First Class, Zack Fair."

"Cool! Wanna help me solve the mysteries of Nibelheim?"

_Well, Sephiroth __**did**__ say that we had some free time. And I wouldn't be providing a very good example to brush the kid off._ Not to mention that he might have finally met a fan. "Mysteries? Sounds like a fun time. So what's the deal?"

While Zack was busy solving the "great mysteries of Nibelheim," Cloud was getting reacquainted with his town, albeit without revealing his identity to anyone besides his mother. Ah, his mother. Nothing out of the usual, but still an embarrassing conversation. The last thing he wanted to talk about with his mother was his current love life, or lack thereof.

When that uncomfortable conversation was finished, and after a quick meal, he'd checked out a few of the small shops that people ran from their homes. It was only afterwards that he'd realized how lucky it was that none of them found it suspicious that he knew where all of the un-advertised shops were, and how much they'd generally charge for everything. There was really only one other place that he'd wanted to vist…He gave a light knock on the door to Tifa's home, and stepped in.

"_**Wait a minute…**_"

* * *

"Wait a minute," Tifa threw him a confused glance. "You visited my house?"

"Yeah. I guess I just thought you might have gone home."

"So, did you go in?"

"Well…"

* * *

He walked around for a few minutes, before deciding that if she was there, she definitely wasn't on the first floor. He walked upstairs, and knocked on the door a few times. When there was no response, he peeked inside, and glanced around the empty room.

_Guess she's not here…_

He walked over to the piano, playing a few notes before deciding that he was **really** out of practice. How he'd managed to butcher such a simple song was probably beyond even Hojo's comprehension. Noticing a small letter on the desk by her bed, he flipped it over a few times, and decided to leave it alone. Probably nothing important anyway.

Cloud was about to leave the room when he passed the dresser near the door. He glanced around nervously, then nudged the drawer open and began sifting around through its contents. Lifting a pink and frilly pair of panties, he gave them an appraising look before slipping them into his pocket.

"_**Cloud!"**_

* * *

"Cloud!"

As Yuffie guffawed from her seat on the bed and Barret cautiously backed away from the now-blushing brunette, he had to wonder whether the look was from embarrassment or anger, he wasn't sure. As she shot him a glare, he figured it was probably both.

"Kidding, kidding."

"You better be!"

"Sorry Tifa. Anyway…"

* * *

After a few less-than-eventful hours had passed, and with no more attempted panty-thefts, Cloud was lounging on one of the beds when the entire inn heard Zack trampling up the stairs and rambling excitedly to their leader, who was staring out the window overlooking the town.

"Hey Miiiiiister Sephiroth, check it out! I got this really cool looking new materia! It's kinda strange. Me an' this kid who lives here found it in the water tower, 'cause we were trying to figure out what was making the water all red and bloody-looking, and, uh…Sephiroth, you okay there?" Zack paused as he finally noticed that the normally-alert SOLDIER, standing prone at the window, more unaware of his surroundings than Zack had ever seen.

"Uh, boss, are you-"

"This place…It seems familiar." But it couldn't be. He wasn't arrogant enough to say that he remembered any and every second of his life, but he was probably the closest to being capable of it on the planet. The only real holes in his memory were of the first one or two years after his birth, and even then he had flashes of Shinra's laboratories. He couldn't have been in a town like Nibelheim during his childhood, and he knew that he'd never been as an adult.

Yet somehow, he knew that he'd been here before.

"You've never been out here?" Sephiroth remained silent for a few moments, and Zack was almost certain that the man hadn't heard him when he finally shook his head and spoke again.

"It's nothing. You should get some sleep. We're leaving early in the morning."

"…Alright, Sephiroth." _Maybe he'll feel better tomorrow. Kill a few monsters to clear his head. Yeah, tomorrow…_

* * *

AN: As you've probably noticed, I've used a combination of various depictions of the event, as well as a bit of my own. And it seemed a bit choppy at the end, but the cuts between the retelling and reactions kind of required it. For now, hope you enjoyed, and the next update should be really soon, considering that I basically just split this chapter in two.


	15. The Nightmare Begins

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.

AN: Well, here's the next chapter. Still one more to go before Nibelheim is up, but I promise that one will come out much, **much** sooner than this one did.

"Talking"

_Thoughts_

* * *

Yawning, Zack glanced around at everyone that had gathered outside. After word had gotten around that SOLDIER had gotten rid of the dragon that had been plaguing the town, the locals had been happy to come out and meet their heroes. Aside from Cloud, who was apparently the only person to take Sephiroth's suggestion to heart, the grunts that had come with them seemed to be as tired as he was, though they were attempting to make small talk with the villages all the same. In retrospect, he probably should have tried to get a little more sleep. As for Sephiroth, well, Zack wasn't honestly sure that Sephiroth even **did** sleep.

Speaking of Sephiroth…

"It would seem our guide has arrived." The SOLDIER announced calmly, as the girl Zack had met the day before jogged up to meet them.

"Tifa! You're our guide?!" Zack exclaimed, pointing a finger at her. "No. No way. You're waaaayy too young for this kinda thing."

"Hey, don't underestimate me! I'm not some little kid! I know these mountains better than anybody!"

Sephiroth let out an inaudible sigh, lightly thumping the younger SOLDIER on the back of the head. "Stop heckling our guide, Zack." He paused, looking over the gathered crowd and making sure that their entire group had arrived before pointing at Cloud.

"You're with us." He pointed at the other two grunts, the driver and the one that had gone with Zack while Sephiroth and Cloud stopped to deal with the dragon. "You two stay here and keep an eye on the town."

"Hey, SOLDIER." Sephiroth turned to the dark-haired man. He didn't know his name (And frankly, couldn't care less), but he assumed that he was related to their guide. The girl obviously took more after her mother, but the resemblance was there. His next words served as a good enough confirmation.

"We don't need you people to protect our town. Shinra never brings anything but trouble. So you listen to me, Sephiroth. I don't care who you are, if something happens out there…" He trailed off, the threat obvious. While he couldn't bring himself to even appear intimidated, Sephiroth gave him a respectful nod.

"She'll be safe."

At the same time, Zack and Tifa made threw in their own opinions on the subject, one far too cheery and the other embarrassed.

"Don't worry, Mister Tifa's Dad Sir! We'll make sure to take good care of her!"

"Da-ad! Cut it out, will ya? I'll be fine. I go up in the mountains all the time, and now I've got all these big tough SOLDIER guys with me. Stop worrying so much!"

Sephiroth turned an amused glance towards the young girl (Though perhaps only three people alive would be able to tell the difference between his amused glance, angry glance, neutral glance, or any other glance), and her father sighed in resignation. He had the distinct feeling that this sort of attitude was something he'd grown very used to dealing with.

"If you're ready?"

"Yeah, I'm-"

"Hey, hey General Sephiroth!" A dark-haired man holding a camera ran up to them, interrupting the girl. "Could I get a picture while you guys are here? We never get any big celebrities out this way or anything, so this is a really rare opportunity. I'll even get you guys some copies if you want them. Please?"

Zack took pity on the excited photographer, knowing that Sephiroth had no love for pictures. Apparently he wasn't quite as fond of the publicity that came with the job as some members of SOLDIER could be. "Aw c'mon, Mister Sephiroth. A picture won't hurt, right?"

"Hmph. I suppose not." Sephiroth slowly trudged over to the group, standing quietly off at the side as Tifa and Zack did a few poses for the now-thrilled cameraman.

"That's great you guys! I'll make sure to get you some copies. Oh, I forgot!" He held the camera out to Zack. "I don't really go too far into the mountains because of the monsters and stuff, so would you be okay with getting a few pictures along the way?"

"Uh, yeah, why not? Sounds like it could be fun."

And so, take pictures he did. Tifa giggling as Cloud raced her across a bridge, Sephiroth glaring at the camera as Zack caught him staring off into the distance while lost in thought, Cloud standing over a fallen monster that had tried its luck with the unfamiliar prey…He'd even managed to convince Sephiroth to take a few pictures of him and the others. Usually in dramatic and exaggerated poses, but pictures all the same. Aside from a few monsters who were quick to learn their lessons, little of note happened until they entered the caverns of the small mountain range.

After taking a few turns, now being led by Sephiroth (Who insisted on being first in an area where ambushes would make reacting more difficult with a civilian in the way), they came across a strangely beautiful sight. The room was glowing with a green light, and in the center stood a large crystalline formation. Between the lingering feeling of warmth and the small stream of Mako flowing around it, the naturally formed materia seemed to have a life of its own.

"Amazing…" Tifa moved into the cavern with Cloud at her heels, both fixated on the crystal ahead of them.

"What is this place?" Zack followed, taking in the view with a slow whistle.

"A Mako spring. Truly a marvel of nature." Even Sephiroth, usually reserved and unresponsive, couldn't keep the appreciation for the rare natural occurrence out of his voice.

"It's so beautiful, but…If we continue to siphon Mako energy, this spring will run dry one day, won't it?" She brought her hand to her chest, hovering above her heart as the concern seeped into her voice. Sephiroth nodded in ascent, looking surprisingly sad.

"Materia are formed by condensing Mako energy. Such naturally-formed materia are a rare sight indeed…And one that will inevitably lost with Shinra's ambition."

"By the way Mister Sephiroth, how is it that natural materia allow us to use magic?" Zack tilted his head and grinned at the older SOLDIER, who smirked at him in return.

"You call yourself a SOLDIER, even without knowing something so basic?" The slightly mocking tone became more serious, as he switched into what Genesis had once dubbed his 'lecturing mode.' "Materia contains the knowledge of the Ancients. Knowledge to control the power of this planet at will. It is this knowledge which binds us to the planet, allowing us to call forth powerful magic."

"Eh? Magic? A mysterious power?"

At that, Sephiroth actually laughed. Not the strained, frustrated laugh that he'd had when talking about his 'father' but a genuine, heartfelt laugh.

"H-hey, what's the deal? Did I say something funny?"

"It's nothing, Zack. Just a memory."

"Huh?"

"A man once told me never to use unscientific terms such as 'magic' or 'mysterious powers.' He was so angry, for a moment I thought that the fool might actually go into cardiac arrest." As he continued to laugh, Tifa and Cloud nervously shifted around while Zack scratched the back of his head in confusion.

"That's…a creepy thing to laugh about, Mister Sephiroth." As his superior calmed down, he turned to his junior with a raised eyebrow, his next word explaining everything.

"Hojo."

"Ah, gotcha."

"Do you think I could touch it?" Tifa had stepped close to the fountain, examining it with curiosity that Sephiroth had seen in Zack during their first few meetings and training sessions.

"Just avoid the liquid Mako. If it's crystallized, then it should be safe."

He gave them (For Zack and Cloud had apparently decided to take a look at the unusual sight as well) a few minutes to look over the crystal before turning towards the nearest exit from the chamber.

"It's time to go."

From the caverns, it took them perhaps half an hour to reach the reactor. The creatures inhabiting the mountains hadn't attacked them since they left, so as far as the group was concerned, they had probably realized either through instinct or observation that the four people traveling through the mountains weren't prey worth seeking. Tifa and Cloud jogged up behind the two, and the young girl nearly ran headfirst into Sephiroth as he came to a sudden stop at the base of the stairway leading to the unnatural structure.

"So are we gonna go in or what?" Sephiroth didn't bother turning around.

"We are. You're staying out here."

"What!? But I want to go inside too! It's not like I'll break anything, I just wanna see what it's like!"

"I'm afraid we can't allow that. The Mako reactors are restricted to the general public for a reason. They hold a number of Shinra's industrial secrets."

"But-"

"Zack, with me."

Cloud stepped in front of the stairway as the two made their way up, holding out a hand in front of him and shaking his head when Tifa tried to follow. She stomped a few times in frustration before pouting and facing away from the soldier (And though he wouldn't admit it, Cloud found the look to be quite adorable).

The two veteran SOLDIER saw nothing unusual as they made their way through the catwalks, but the main chamber was another story. They wandered around looking throughout the room, neither certain of just what they were looking at. The chamber was full of pods lined up in rows along the stairs, something that both could confirm were highly unusual for a Mako reactor, and Zack was more than willing to voice that fact while Sephiroth remained silent.

"The hell is all this? I've been to a few reactors, but…" He reached the top of the stairs, and trailed off as he saw the name above the door. Mumbling under his breath, his mind began working to connect what he was seeing with what he'd learned over the last several years. "JENOVA…What in the world?"

He pushed at the doors, looking for a switch of some kind. It didn't do any good.

"Locked up tight. What are you keeping in here, President?"

"That seems to be the problem." Zack started at the voice, suddenly remembering that he wasn't alone. He walked down the steps to meet Sephiroth, who was looking at the piping running below the pods and along the walls. "This is what's broken, but why? Hn. Zack, go open the valve."

"Right." He immediately followed the order and returned to his comrade, who was looking into the small opening near the top of the pod, face reflected in the glass. "So what are these things, Sephiroth?"

He stepped away, gesturing towards the pod. Zack obliged, uncertain of why his superior was being so reserved (Far more so than usual) but eager to see what the devices held. It was a decision he almost wished he'd never made as he fell backwards to the ground, fighting back the bile rising in his throat.

"W-what the hell!? Th-this is…"

"Normal SOLDIER are humans who have been showered and operated on with Mako. You're different from normal people, but even then you're still human. But these…these people have been exposed to far higher concentrations of Mako. So much that it's caused physical mutations, even."

"…Monsters. The true face of SOLDIER." _Is that what Genesis was telling us? Was this what gave him that last push over the edge?_

"Yes. No doubt Hojo was behind this. Using Mako energy, he created these unnatural living monsters, rather than normal SOLDIER like you."

"Like…But Sephiroth, aren't you-"

"No. No! It can't be!" _This - Am I - Is this how I was created!? As some fucked up science toy for Hojo!?_ "It's not true! It can't be true! I was always different, always separate from everyone else even as a child. I thought I had some special purpose, but this…Am I even human?"

"No." The voice echoed through the chamber, and Zack cried out as he felt himself being lifted through the air. The breath was knocked from his lungs as he slammed into one of the pods, nearly forcing it to cave in on itself, and falling to the floor. The world turned upside down as he tried to see through blurry vision, chest burning with pain as the flames of the advanced fire spell faded away, leaving his uniform scorched.

And then he appeared, floating down to the ground, wing folding behind his back as he came to a stop. Somehow, in the depths of their hearts, both Zack and Sephiroth had believed Genesis was still alive. Regardless of what was said, they'd believed that he had survived in spite of the horrible odds, and was simply waiting for a chance to return. And so he had. While his hair and skin had lost most of its color, even the feathers of his once-black wing beginning to fade as a result of his deterioration, the red clad Ex-SOLDIER still held himself with all of the strength and confidence that he had in his prime.

"You are a monster. But you are a monster superior the pathetic abominations held in this chamber."

"So you are alive." There was no surprise in Sephiroth's voice.

"Sephiroth, the legendary SOLDIER. You were born from the Jenova Project. You are…the greatest monster of us all."

"Genesis! So you were alive after all!" Genesis glanced at the black-haired boy with a mocking grin.

"Alive? I suppose so, though it's sometimes difficult to tell with my current condition."

"Genesis." The Ex-SOLDIER's attention returned to his former friend and idol. "What does the Jenova Project have to do with me?"

"The Jenova Project was the name of the experiment using cells taken from Jenova." He gave a grand gesture towards the door at the top of the chamber.

"Mother's…cells?"

"Oh, my pitiful old friend. You've never met your mother, and the only thing you ever heard was her name. Am I right? I have no idea what she looks like, but what I **do** know is-"

"Genesis, stop it already!" Whatever he was going to say, it couldn't be good. Especially with Sephiroth in the state he was in already.

He continued as if uninterrupted. "- that Jenova was found in a stratum discovered on the Northern Continent. A calamity that fell from the sky over two thousand years ago. A monster, just like us. Sephiroth, SOLDIER First Class, lend me your strength! Without it, my deterioration will never stop. Angeal was born as the result of Jenova Project G. Born a monster, just as I was. But Jenova Project S was-"

_Jenova Project S…?_

"-designed to create the perfect weapon! The perfect monster! You! You, the greatest SOLDIER, Sephiroth!"

"…What can I do?"

"Because of the nature of Jenova Project S, you have no power to create clones, nor do your genes spread. You won't deteriorate like Angeal and I. Sephiroth, lend me your cells. The Gift of the Goddess, which will foster life!" With that he pulled a dumbapple from beneath his coat, holding it out to Sephiroth.

"Are you trying to confuse me?" Sephiroth turned away, mumbling more to himself than either of the others in the room, gripping his forehead as though he were in pain. "Is this the truth I've been looking for? But no, I…"

He seemed to calm down, soothed by some kind of unseen force, and turned to Genesis. "I don't know if you're lying or telling the truth. Whichever it may be," he reached out, knocking the apple from Genesis' hand and giving him a level, emotionless stare.

"Go rot in obscurity."

Genesis' reaction was considerably less angry than Zack would've thought. If anything, he seemed satisfied with Sephiroth's rejection.

"I understand, Sephiroth. Just as I'd have expected from the perfect monster." As Sephiroth walked from the chamber Genesis turned and leaned against the nearby railing, lightly clutching at his left shoulder, looking after his former friend.

"When the duel of the beasts brings about the world's end, the Goddess shall descend from the sky. Wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting." He stumbled slightly before regaining his balance, and leaving the room.

"Genesis!" Zack dragged himself to his feet as the door shut behind the winged man, and began limping forward as he began to gather his bearings. "Genesis, wait!"

* * *

"So, what's it like working with Sephiroth?"

Cloud shrugged, lowering his voice slightly.

"Don't know. First time."

"Oh. So, uh, you spend a lot of time with guys from SOLDIER?"

"A little."

"Do you happen to know a guy named Cloud? He's about my age, blond hair, blue eyes, kinda quiet. A bit like you, actually."

"…I-" He swerved away as a rock tumbled from a ledge, weapon at the ready.

"Hey, relax soldier-boy. It's nothing unusual. We're in the mountains. Rocks fall. You're way too tense." She grinned at him.

"…Right." He turned to look back at her, lowering the rifle and trying to return the grin. "It was probably j-get down!"

As Tifa dove for the ground, thankful for the instincts imprinted onto her mind during her training with Zangan, he raised his weapon and let out a hail of gunfire on the red-uniformed soldier running towards them with blades in hand. The attacker deflected the first shots with his blades, but easily fell to the rest of the onslaught.

"Look out!" He turned, following Tifa's view, and raised the rifle just in time to block another blade. With a closer look, it was obvious that this was one of the same men that they'd dealt with a couple years before, when Shinra's headquarters and Junon were attacked. As the rifle began to crack a fist shot out from behind him towards the Copy, knocking it to the ground. It didn't stand again.

"…Nice punch." She turned to him, smirking.

"Thanks. Master Zangan says I'm one of the best he's ever taught." Cloud glanced around, hesitating for a moment before deciding that he was probably making the right decision.

"We…should probably go inside the Reactor." They weren't exactly in a good position to defend themselves if more of the Copies showed up. At best, Zack and Sephiroth would be able to provide them with more than enough support. At worst, the interior of the reactor would make it more difficult for the things to overwhelm them with numbers. Tifa grinned excitedly, the threat of another attack apparently overridden by her curiosity about one of Shinra's most recognized marvels, when Cloud saw the glint of a blade as another Copy jumped from a nearby cliff towards Tifa.

"Move!" He pushed her aside and the Copy rammed him to the ground, the blade aimed for her heart grazing across the side of his ribs as they rolled from the impact, rifle flying from Cloud's arms. The Copy recovered first, having anticipated that the soldier would have attempted to protect the civilian, flipping his blade into a reverse-grip and stabbing down towards the recovering blonde. Cloud pushed up from the ground and ducked inside the blow, gripping the Copy's wrist and throwing his weight against its shoulder, sending them both to the ground again as its weapon flew from its grip. The Copy audibly **growled** at him, throwing him off with frightening ease, and jammed its knee into Cloud's right side with all of its force. The blonde fell to the ground gripping his side, trying in vain to push himself through the pain of what was most likely several cracked or broken ribs.

Suddenly the Copy dodged backwards as Tifa's foot crossed the air where its head had been moments before. It tilted its head in curiosity, not having expected much resistance from the seemingly-untrained teen. Evaluation apparently complete, it dashed forward-

And a stream of red painted the gray and black stone of the mountains, as the legendary blade of the elite SOLDIER split the attacker in two. Tifa stumbled back at the sudden appearance of the black-clad SOLDIER, staring in awe as a blue beam of energy was released from the thin line of silver, easily subduing several more of the uniformed Clones as they appeared near the entrance to the clearing, the resulting shockwaves as the energy slammed into the walls of the canyon sending debris falling across the pathways and down the steep ledges of the mountain. The silver-haired man seemed to blur as he moved forward at speeds that she once would have thought impossible, quickly disappearing into the caverns where they'd passed through earlier. The sound of gunfire, clashing blades, and screams of pain echoed from beyond the point where Sephiroth had left eyesight, no doubt the result of the master swordsman cleaving his way through more of the Copies.

Gathering her wits, she pushed herself up and jogged towards the injured soldier. While his breathing was harsh, he was at least conscious. He nodded in thanks as she helped him sit up, still gripping his side. Moments after Sephiroth had left, a red blur flashed through the door of the reactor and took to the skies, several grey and black feathers floating to the ground below him. The next figure to emerge was, thankfully, a relief in the form of a slightly stumbling but otherwise calm and collected SOLDIER. He reached them in seconds, taking the steps in threes and fours as he practically leapt to them.

"Are you two alright!?"

"I'm fine, just a few scratches. But he…" She nodded to the soldier, who was looking away from them. Tifa was surprised to realize that, though she couldn't see his face, the soldier was ashamed. He'd just managed to help her fight off several people dressed like SOLDIER, and he was ashamed because what? Because he hadn't kept her from getting a few cuts and scrapes?

"Damn…Listen, could you help him up? If there are any more of those guys alive," He waved a hand across the small battlefield, the bodies speaking for themselves, "Then I'm probably gonna need my hands free."

"Y-yeah, of course. Hey, you think you can stand?" He nodded. She smiled at him and leaned over, gently wrapping one of the shoulder's arms around her shoulder and helping him to his feet.

Luck, it would seem was on their side. They encountered several of the local monsters along the way, but it appeared that Sephiroth had already…dealt…with the Genesis Copies. Of course, with Sephiroth in such a mental state, "dealing" with his enemies would be more accurately described as butchering them. Tifa wouldn't later be able to recall how many times she'd averted her eyes to avoid the sight of decapitated, dismembered, and disemboweled men strewn throughout the path. In a few hours they'd managed to reach Nibelheim again, and Tifa allowed the injured soldier to rest against a wall to one of the houses as she lightly moved towards Zack.

"So what's going on? What happened in there!?"

"Sorry, I can't say. I don't suppose you saw Sephiroth somewhere when we got back."

"No…But I'll go ask the others if they've seen him anywhere."

"Thanks Tifa." She nodded and turned to begin her search, but stopped briefly near Cloud to whisper a quiet thanks to the person who had risked himself to help her.

_I knew this was a bad idea. Why don't I ever just __**listen**__ when I have a bad feeling about these things?_

* * *

AN: Yeah…So it's been nearly a year, but as I've mentioned in my profile, updates were supposed to come out a while back on basically **all** of my stories. Life just kind of got in the way. I am sorry that I didn't manage to get this out earlier though, and I **will** get the next chapter out much sooner. My goal is to get at least one update per story every one to two months. Thanks to all of those who have stayed with my fics even with the big gaps that have come up in the last year.


	16. The Enemy of the World

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or any other part of FFVII.

AN: Not as early as I predicted (Not even close)…But hey, faster than the last one. Also, it's not up yet but I'm working on a "Final Fantasy VII Compilation Ultimania" forum with the various pieces of information that I've managed to gather from the people who have worked to translate the guides, along with some of my own theories and ideas on the side. More on that when it's up.

"Talking"

_Thoughts_

* * *

Cloud shot up with a frightened gasp.

"Tifa!"

"Hey, hey, calm down. Tifa's alright, so don't worry." Zack leaned over from the stool next to the bed, lightly pushing the younger soldier back down. It's not like it would do any good for the kid to strain himself right after regaining consciousness from his last battle.

"She's okay?" He let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. But…maybe if I was a SOLDIER too, I could have done more. It wouldn't have been a problem in the first place. Um, Zack? Is something wrong?"

Zack's face had darkened into a frow as Cloud mentioned SOLDIER, and the younger boy glanced at him in confusion.

"SOLDIERs are nothing but monsters. Just forget about it."

_What? Monsters? What's he talking about?_

"Zack, what happened in the reactor?" Zack stood up, resting his hands behind his head as he paced around the room angrily, more aggressively than Cloud had seen him in any of their missions together. "I haven't got a clue. Not a damned clue. I don't feel like I know anything that's going on these days. But I'm going to find out."

This didn't really sound like it was going anywhere. Not anywhere pleasant, at least. So Cloud said the first thing that came to mind as he tried to come up with something that might get Zack's mind off of whatever was happening.

"Hey Zack? I, uh, I don't think I've ever seen you use that sword before." Cloud's eyes flickered over to the sword resting against the wall. "Why not?"

Zack paused, looking over towards the weapon, and for a moment Cloud wondered if perhaps he'd just made things worse. The SOLDIER seemed to have stopped paying attention to the world around him as he hefted the blade into the air with one hand, flipping it over so that the blade was angled towards the ceiling.

"Why…?" The dark haired man's posture relaxed as he appeared to realize something, and Cloud let out a relieved sigh. "Hm. Well, that's because use brings about wear, tear, and rust. And this weapon right here? This is a symbol of dreams, and pride. Honor. No point in ruining such a good weapon, right?"

It was an odd response, but Cloud laughed anyway, glad to see his friend in better spirits again. Zack joined in, and for a few minutes things felt like they were back where they needed to be. Then the older boy apparently felt he'd had enough of the attention, and that it was time for his junior to be the one off balance.

"So, ah, is Tifa an "acquaintance" of yours then?" He chuckled, with a wink and a grin to the now-blushing rookie.

"I-yeah-s-sort of, yeah."

"So did you guys talk? Before we went up there, I mean. Childhood sweethearts catching up and all that jazz?"

"No." Well, that was a good way to kill the semi-cheerful mood that they'd finally managed to establish. And in only one syllable too.

"Well, I'm not quite sure just what's going on with you two, but I've gotta ask; are you okay with that?" Cloud was sitting up again, but he seemed to have his bearings straight. At the very least he didn't look like he was about to keel over.

"Yes. Maybe. I mean, I think so." He glanced around the room curiously. "Zack?"

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Where's Sephiroth?" It wasn't as though he was expecting Sephiroth to be sitting faithfully at his beside or anything, and he certainly wasn't worried about the man's health, but once he knew that Tifa was safe he was sort of eager to hear what the legend had to say about his performance at the reactor.

"He's been holed up in the old Shinra Manor for days now."

"I've been asleep for days!" He blushed when the SOLDIER chuckled at the outburst. Normally self-control wasn't an issue with him, but then it wasn't every day that he passed out after defending his long-time crush from genetically altered super soldiers. He glanced out the window on the far side of the room, noting that the sun was beginning to set. He really **had** been out for a while.

"Yeah, you were pretty out of it. Not every day that a kid like you manages to go up against guys like that. I'm impressed, Cloud." Cloud knocked his hand away as he reached down to ruffle his hair, but Zack didn't miss the proud grin that crossed his face for a brief moment.

"Thanks."

"Just tellin' it like it is."

"So…he's in the manor then. What for? Isn't the mission over?"

"Honestly, nobody's got a clue what's going on in his head right now. We barely even see him when we're over there. The lights never go out, he doesn't leave the building, and sometimes he just kinda disappears on us and we can't figure out where he's gone off to." That…didn't sound good.

"What should we do?"

"The truth? I'm not sure. I called in to HQ the other day, had a word with Tseng of the Turks. He said to just hold tight until they figure something-eh?" The owner of the hotel rushed into the room, words coming between the gasps for air, apparently not wanting to waste time to deliver his message.

"Helicopter-Turk-down-stairs-whooboy."

"Really? Man, talk about convenient timing. Thanks for hurrying up here man!"

"Zack?"

"Don't worry about it, Cloud. I'll take care of things from here."

When he dashed out of the inn, nearly scaring the life out of any occupants who might have been unfortunate enough to be in his way in the process, he was ecstatic to see the new arrival. The long haired brunette had been the one that helped out on his mission to the northern continent to deal with Avalanche a couple of years earlier, when they were a bit more active. Not to mention that if she was here, odds are that Tseng either had a plan or was in the process of making one.

"Yo, Yuuko! So Tseng finally decided to send somebody up here, eh?"

"Fair, what's the situation?"

"Well hello to you too, sweetness. Nice to see the Turks have been spending that extra funding on sensitivity classes. Man, you're so harsh-"

"Just tell me what's going on. You weren't too clear with Tseng, so I couldn't get a proper briefing on the situation."

"Fine, fine. Long story short? There's some seriously messed up stuff going down at this town's reactor. Some kind of human experimentation or something. Ever since Sephiroth saw it he's been locked up in the Shinra Manor's basement doing who knows what. To make it worse, the Genesis Copies that attacked Banora and Midgar a while back made a little appearance. We're, well, we're really not sure what to do."

"…I see. I'll go investigate the reactor myself and report to Tseng. You stay here and keep an eye on things." She flipped out her phone, typing something out quickly before shutting it and returning it to her pocket. "I've sent you this phone's contact information. Call me if you learn anything new."

"Gotcha. And hey, take care up there." With a grateful nod, she was gone.

_Damn…what should we do now?_ Cloud needed rest, and Tifa probably wasn't much better off, so exploring was out of the question. They wouldn't be able to go far anyway with the threat of more of the Copies showing up. Well, he could at least go check and make sure that Sephiroth wasn't going crazy. No way being locked up for that long could be good for someone. That, however, was far easier said than done.

"So you're telling me you haven't found anything yet?" The soldier that'd been driving the truck on the way up, his name was Gibb, shook his head in response while the Forra just shrugged.

"I've looked this entire manor over from top to bottom. If there's an entrance to the basement inside, I haven't found it."

"Okay, then let's go over this again. After we went up to investigate the reactor the two of you didn't notice any suspicious activity."

"Not a thing since Cloud and the boss caught up with us, Sir. First sign of trouble we noticed was when, well-"

"When Sephiroth came charging in, right?"

"Yeah. We followed him into the manor after that. You know, thought that he might have found out about something going on in here. Gibb here was the first one in the building after him."

"Are you sure you didn't see anything."

"Well, I thought I might have seen him going up to the rooms on the right, but with how dark it was in here before we got everything back up and running I wasn't sure."

"But the basement lights were definitely off before he got here, right?"

"Definitely."

"No doubt, Sir."

"Right. Then here's the deal; Jorra, go look for any possible entrance to the basement from the outside. Gibb, check all the rooms upstairs in the right wing, I'll take the left. I know you've already looked around but go over it a few more times just in case something slipped by. We'll meet back in an hour if we still can't find anything and start asking around town."

"Yes Sir!"

"Yes Sir!"

It was only ten minutes into the search that Gibb came rushing in as Zack was removing a painting from the wall on the chance that Shinra had felt like tossing in a few secret passages during construction. It was a longshot, but-

"Sir, I think I may have found a secret passage behind one of the walls!"

-Strangely possible.

"Let's go!" When he was led to a one of the back rooms of the mansion, Gibb walked towards the rounded corner of the room jutting out from the walls. "So where is it?"

"Exactly? I don't know."

"Then w-"

"Shhh! Listen." He couldn't make it out at first, but after a few seconds of silence there seemed to be a sound coming from behind the wall. "Hear it?"

"Yeah, I do. Hold on just a second." He walked over, kneeling down next to the wall and pressing his ear against it. "Sounds like…trickling water? Footsteps? Hard to make out, but there's definitely something there. Now how do we get by…?"

"Well, if we can't figure anything else out then we could probably force our way through-"

"But that'd be a pain in the ass once Shinra finds out about it. There's gotta be some kind of switch around here or something." Whatever it was, it was obvious that Sephiroth must have known at least something about it beforehand. There was no way he would have been able to make it there and find the entrance so fast with the two soldiers on his tail unless he'd at least known where to look. The fact that twenty minutes of searching under every portrait, book, shelf, and curtain yielded nothing wasn't helping to change that impression.

"Argh! We're so close, I can feel it!" Zack slammed his fist into the wall and Gibb glanced around nervously as the entire room seemed to vibrate for a moment. "We just need to-what the hell?"

Just seconds after his fist made contact with the hidden switch, a section of the wall slid backwards and to the left, revealing the very entrance they'd been looking for. Zack was disappointed to say the least.

"That's…that's it? That's all we get?"

"Um, Sir?"

"It's just that I was expecting something bigger, you know? Like lights, music, and all that kinda stuff."

"Sir, I think we-"

"I know, I know. It's just really anticlimactic." He shrugged. "Ah, oh well. Go tell Forra that we found Seph's little lair. You two take up your positions back in town and contact us if you see anything suspicious, or when the Turk gets back. And keep an eye out for Tifa. She and her teacher went out to practice and she'll probably wanna know that the kid's okay."

"Yes Sir!" Zack stepped into the passage and looked down as Gibb left, letting out a long whistle at the deep spiraling stairway.

_**The hell is with those Shinra bastards and their stairs? **_

_**Shut up old man, I wanna here the story! **_

_**I'm jes sayin' it don't make any damn sense! **_

_**Give it a rest Barret! **_

_**Could you all please be quiet and allow our friends to finish the story?**_

The cavern below the manor wasn't too large and it was relatively simple to navigate, but all the same it was amazing that they'd managed to keep something like this a secret for so long. He'd grown up in a small town so he knew perfectly well how kids and teens could get into just about anything when they were bored enough, and when he was a kid he'd have loved a giant, possibly haunted mansion to explore. _Now where is…oh. This can't be good._

At the end of the long, winding tunnels beneath the manor there was a room that had clearly been used by Hojo. No one would need more than a few minutes in one of his labs to recognize the lunatic's work, and this was pure Hojo from floor to ceiling. Books, beakers, and vials were something that you'd find everywhere, but there were only a few people on the planet that still had access to the technology used for the SOLDIER Mako treatments even in modern times, and that number was substantially lower back when this facility would have been built. Yet even knowing that it was most likely Hojo's lab didn't bother him. What concerned him were the hundreds of books scattered about the room, and the tall man sitting behind the desk at the far end of the laboratory's main office, head bowed and shoulder's shaking in a silent chuckle. He moved towards his superior slowly, trying not to startle him in some way.

_Has he been reading these things all this time?_ "Sephiroth? Sir, are you alright?"

The SOLDIER remained silent.

"Sir, we've been getting worried about you. Maybe you should-"

"I wonder, did you know? Could you have known?"

_This doesn't sound too good._

"Did I know what?" Finally the older man looked up, and there was no denying that the normally beautiful, elegant swordsman wasn't well. There were dark circles beneath bloodshot eyes, marring a paler-than-normal face. His normally tidy hair ragged, shadows only further accentuating his dreadful appearance.

"That long ago a catastrophe struck this planet. The ancestors of your people survived that catastrophe by scurrying about and hiding in fear. This planet escaped certain doom through the sacrifice of the Ancients, the Cetra. After they were nearly eradicated, your kind would multiply and assume control of this planet, acting as though nothing had ever happened." He stood up and stepped out from behind the desk, grabbing one of the many books and tossing it at the younger SOLDIER's feet with disdain. "Now, the Cetra are nothing but a memory that exists only within the pages of history."

"I don't get it. What's any of that got to do with you?" Sephiroth looked up, eyes narrowed and roaming over his junior as if searching for signs of deception in his words. When he seemed satisfied his eyes softened, and he looked away.

"You truly don't understand, do you? Thirty years ago a single being was found in a scientific expedition led by Professor Gast Faremis of the Shinra Electric Power Company, unearthed in a two thousand year old stratum. This being was the last of its kind, the last of the Cetra." His gaze returned to Zack, once again filled with anger.

"Jenova." Zack's eyes widened, prompting a smirk from the legendary SOLDIER. "Yes, you're beginning to see the greater meaning behind this story, aren't you?"

"You're telling me that you were-"

"The Jenova Project began shortly after her discovery. The aim of the project was to create a human being with the mystical powers of the long-dead race of seen only in myth and legend. The result of this project? Three children were created, only three. A failure, left with his family and a gaping hole in his heart which he desperately attempted to fill through violence and destruction. His closest friend, whose only true solace lay in his honor and pride, all torn from him for the sake of the selfish desires of those who abandoned his people two millennia before. And finally, well, you see the final result standing before you now."

"So what does all this mean? What are you thinking right now, Sephiroth?" _Just tell me this isn't going to change things._

"This planet belongs to Mother. So first I'm going to see her-"

_No. Oh no._

"And then we're going to take it back."

"Sephiroth, you ca-" He was cut off as Sephiroth appeared in front of him, driving his fist into the younger SOLDIER's chest hard enough to send him crashing through one of the several mako tubes placed throughout the room.

"Stay out of my way Zack. You won't get another chance." And without another word he was gone, inhuman speed carrying him beyond Zack's sight before he could even begin to stand. He dragged himself up, breaking into a sprint before he'd completely gathered his bearings and racing through the cavern, up the stairwell into the now empty room. He didn't even bother with the stairs, instead simply leaping to the ground below and kicking off back into a run, bursting through the doors of the manor. For all of his effort, it hadn't been nearly fast enough.

Nibelheim was burning.

It was easy to make out the bodies that were strewn about the square, several twisted into unnatural positions that didn't bear a second glance. His fellow soldiers weren't far from the entrance, Gibb's skull caved in and Jorra's chest barely attached to the rest of his torso. Zack rushed to the center of town as Cloud, now back in full uniform, burst out of one of the houses and dropped to his knees, coughing violently. He jumped through the flames to the younger boy's side, kneeling down and placing a hand against his back.

"Cloud, you okay!" It was a stupid question, and he winced even as he realized that he'd said it. Cloud just shook his head, shoulders heaving, and Zack let out a curse.

_Where did Sephiroth go?_

"Z-Za-" He broke into coughs again.

"Yeah, I'm here buddy." Cloud shook his head again and took a deep breath.

"Z-Zangan. He's-" They both jumped in surprise as the beast of a man that had introduced himself as Tifa's martial arts master barreled through one of the upper floor windows with a smaller figure in his arms. Landing hard on his feet but not stumbling or faltering, Zangan lowered the man gently to the ground, leaning him against the wall, speaking to him quietly for a moment before noticing the two Shinra employees.

"Kid, were there any…" Cloud's shoulders slumped, and that was all the answer he needed. "Damn! We have to finish up quickly; Tifa went chasing after her father, and he was going up to the reactor after Sephiroth!"

Both men tensed at that. Zack clapped his hand down on Cloud's shoulder.

"Cloud, I'll go help Tifa. Help Zangan find any survivors and catch up when you can." His tone was stern, but soothing all the same, prompting Cloud to nod in agreement.

"Right!"

* * *

_Smoke?_ The long-haired brunette's eyelids lowered a small fraction, a suspicious expression that only her fellow Turks would have recognized. She slipped her phone back into her pocket, deciding to put off her report to Tseng until she saw what was going on. There was more than enough smoke to signify a possible attack and what was that coming towards her? It looked almost like…

"Sephiroth." There was blood on the sword. Not a good sign. Had it not been for the almost gleeful smirk on the SOLDIER's face, she might have thought that he was in pursuit of the monster or group responsible for the smoke coming from the direction of the village. But one didn't become a Turk without trusting one's instincts and hers were telling her that the man in front of her didn't have intentions quite so noble. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Oh, look at that. Another traitor in our midst. It would seem fate is not in your favor today, dog of Shinra." With a flick of his wrist the Masamune sent a wave of blue energy at the woman before she could react, the blade-like beam ripping across her chest and flinging her into the rocky wall, cracks visible in the stone behind her as she stumbled to the ground. She was no medic, but she'd been injured in missions often enough to realize that this was **not** a good situation. Even ignoring that it was almost certain that a few ribs were broken, more probably cracked, coughing up blood generally wasn't a positive sign.

Nor, she realized as she tried to follow after her opponent, was being unable to move your legs. She reached forward, trying to pull herself after him (Stopping him was out of the question, but she **might** be able to land a tracking device on him if she could get a decent shot lined up), but knew within moments that even so much as keeping him in sight was going to be impossible. She struggled to stand for several minutes as her vision began to blur, and she fell back to the ground with a jarring crack. She managed to make out the form of a young woman running through her field of view before her already hazy vision darkened and the world faded away.

How long she'd blacked out wasn't certain, but the sound of her named seemed to pull her back to consciousness for at least a moment. She was lying on her back, she realized, seeing the gray silhouette of the clouds behind the familiar face.

"Yuuko!"

_What? Zack…Zack!_

"Zack. Sephiroth, he's going fo-for the reactor. Couldn't stop him. You-"

"Hey, hey, quiet now. It's okay, I've got this."

"Zack, wait. Girl…she went…after…"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of Tifa, you just worry about your own injuries." He shook a small, empty vial that she recognized as one of Shinra's many potion products. That was a stupid move. If he planned to fight Sephiroth he would need it more than her.

"Zack…"

"Hey, just rest. Trust me." And she did, nodding in thanks before allowing herself to fall back into unconsciousness.

As Zack left his fellow Shinra employee to recover, Tifa stumbled upon another scene of brutality just like those in the town. However, there was one distinct difference that separated the body in front of her from the others, forcing her to her knees in horror. Even without any kind of medical training it was clear that her father wasn't going to last much longer, assuming he was even still alive.

"D-Dad? Dad?" She reached down, pushing on his shoulder. "Daddy?"

"Ti…fa." His hand reached up toward her face. She gripped it with her own, guiding it to her cheek. "Run. R-run…away. Now!"

"No, please! You'll be okay, we just need-" His arm went limp. "Just…just need…to…"

Tifa screamed.

The sound echoed through the mountains for only a moment, and everything was calm again. She rested her father's hand back on his stomach, and looked towards the abnormally long blade embedded in the stony ground a few feet away, blood still dripping along the metal.

"Sephiroth." She stood, shaking as she walked towards the blade. "Sephiroth did this to you, didn't he? Sephiroth. SOLDIER. Shinra…I-"

She gripped the hilt of the Masamune, grunting with the effort of lifting the heavy weapon as she tore it from the earth.

"I hate them all!"

The reactor was the only place for him to go in these mountains. Had she not been in such a state of rage as she entered the facility, she might have noted the stifling atmosphere, the unnatural nature of what was contained in the pods of the main chamber. Yet all she could focus on was the man standing before a large door at the top of the stairway.

"Mother, I'm here! I've come for you, so open the door! Your son has returned!" What he said wasn't important. All that mattered was that she stopped him, here and now. So she silently padded up the stairs, making sure to carefully avoid allowing the blade to crash against anything. Even in her rage she was very aware that she was just a sixteen year old girl, and this was quite probably the most powerful human being on the planet. If she didn't strike him unawares, he would likely kill her with ease. His hands were resting against the door, his head turning about frantically as he tried to find some kind of lever or switch beside the door that would allow him entrance. The only sound she made was a small grunt as she hefted the blade back before swinging it down. The Masamune met its target.

It just didn't meet it in the way she'd expected.

Her expression struggled between terror and fury as she realized that he'd noticed her. She didn't know how, but he'd known she was there. And as the blade had neared him, he'd whirled around and caught it between his left thumb and forefinger, looking down at her with disdain.

"Pathetic."

Faster than she could respond, the blade was being ripped from her hands as the SOLDIER reached forward to grip the hilt with his right hand and swinging the blade once in a single motion. And from then, Tifa knew only pain. Sheer, inescapable agony flooded her senses, her mind not quite recognizing the feeling of the red fluid spraying from her chest, or the sudden jolts as she slammed into the steps over and over while tumbling away from the insane warrior. Sephiroth didn't spare a second glance at the bloodied child, instead turning to seek access to his mother once again. It was taking too long to reach her.

So instead of searching any longer, he lifted his hand to the door and allowed the energy to flow through him into the materia in the Masamune's hilt, freezing the metal barrier. Then with a swing, nothing stood between them.

Minutes later the black haired SOLDIER ran into the room and came to a stop at the base of the stairs where the young girl was sprawled on the ground, blood pooling around her prone body. He knelt next to her and let out a sigh of relief. She was alive, at least for now. If he could end this quickly enough then they might be able to save her. He rolled her onto her back and nearly jumped in surprise as he realized she was awake.

"Tifa!"

"Zack?"

"Sephiroth did this, right?" She nodded. "What the hell is he thinking? He's completely lost it!"

"You guys…you came here for an investigation. That's all it was, wasn't' it? Then why…" Her voice cracked as tears began to escape. "Why did you…"

"Tifa…"

"SOLDIER, and Shinra, and even you…I hate you." She turned away, closing her eyes, and Zack stood with a sorrowful expression. He turned away from her and began moving up the stairs towards the chamber where his superior had no doubt gone.

"I won't ask you to forgive me. But let me put an end to this." In only a few steps he was through the door at the top, looking on as Sephiroth spoke to some bizarre alien creature in a massive tube that resembled those used in the process used to create members of SOLDIER.

"Mother…I've come at last! Let's take this planet back…" He reached forward to run his fingers along the glass. "Together."

Zack leapt to the platform where Sephiroth was standing, bringing his blade up to the older man's neck.

"Sephiroth!"

"I've come up with a wonderful plan, Mother." He didn't even seem to realize the other man's presence. "Let's go to the Promised Land together, Mother."

"Sephiroth, listen to me! Why did you kill the villages? Why did you hurt Tifa? Answer me!" The blade was trembling as Zack fought to hold it stead, all of his instincts screaming at him to finish things then and there. Sephiroth only chuckled.

"Look, Mother. The traitor has shown himself again. These fools wish to stop us from reclaiming our birthright. What do you think we should do, Mother?"

"What happened to you…?"

"I agree, Mother. There is only one fate that awaits a traitor." Zack's eyes widened as Sephiroth spun around, knocking the Buster Sword away and bringing the Masamune upwards toward him. He jumped back off of the platform onto some nearby piping hanging out over the massive pit of mako and looked up towards the calm warrior.

"I might have spared you once, you know. You have power, and courage, and a kind heart, all admirable qualities for one of your kind. I wouldn't have objected to allowing you a few extra months to make peace before sending you to join the rest of your race. Yet you continue to interfere. I suppose I have no choice…" And Zack barely managed to maneuver the Buster Sword behind him as Sephiroth actually **disappeared**, the force of the Masamune against the his own blade throwing him from the piping towards a hanging platform, the green glow of the Mako below emanating throughout the room. He twisted in the air to look back up at Sephiroth, and was met with the smirking face as his blade arced forward, sending a burst of blue energy towards the younger SOLDIER, sending him spinning into the reinforced glass platform below, suspended by only a few smaller metal platforms beneath it.

Zack rolled to his feet as Sephiroth followed, seeming to hover slightly before coming to a rest a dozen feet in front of him. Contrary to his hesitant landing, Sephiroth kicked off the moment his feet touched the ground. The Masamune was little more than a mere blur as it flashed through the air over and over, just missing its target by mere inches in every strike as Zack desperately fought to keep up with the incredible speed, not even registering the small tears in his uniform nor the small cuts running across his arms and torso, increasing in number with every attack from the silver haired warrior.

But then, imitation was a key advantage to Zack's fighting style. It was through imitation that he'd mastered techniques that Angeal had preferred, and that he'd seen Genesis use, and that he'd developed with the inspiration of his friends. To do this, he had to use one of the most important features of imitation. This feature was the recognition of patterns. And for all of his inhuman ferocity Sephiroth still had a pattern and flow to his movements, a flow that he could exploit if he could just keep focused on it. Left slash, right, upward left, overhead, upward, thrust, left twisting, right…opening!

Not enough time to strike, not with the Buster Sword. He focused his energy into the materia in the blade's hilt as Sephiroth drew his arm back for a wide strike, when the younger SOLDIER would normally have been off guard from the greater force of the last blow. A brief image of surprise flickered through Sephiroth's eyes as he arched backwards, bolts of electricity passing harmlessly above him. He shot back into position and hefted the Masamune up to block the oncoming Buster Sword, bracing the back of the blade with one hand and grunting with surprise at the power. And here he'd assumed that Zack would have been too worn down for a counterattack at this point.

_Amusing._

"You truly are my brother's apprentice, Fair. Angeal taught you well." He moved his right hand from the back of the Masamune to grip the edge of the Buster Sword, focusing his own energy into the weapon. Zack's only just had the time to be shocked as the materia in his own weapon activated before the explosion sent him careening backwards, slamming into the platform with more than enough force to crack even the reinforced surface. He dragged himself to his feet, confused as to how he was still alive. Sephiroth was confident, but he'd never known the man to be arrogant. He wouldn't have wasted such a blatant opening…and why was he still smirking? The question was answered moments later, as the Masamune began to glow with blue energy, Sephiroth twisting it so the tip of the blade hovered perhaps a foot over the ground.

"Let's make this a bit more interesting." The tip shot down into the ground, and the glass below them shattered. Zack stumbled, hardly able to keep his footing as he raised an arm to his eyes to keep the tiny, flying shards away. When he brought it down, he cursed silently to himself. Oh yes, "interesting" indeed. Of course his superior officer would find battle on a few small metal support beams over a giant chasm leading directly to the Lifestream an interesting playground.

He had little time to ponder the thought before a wave of blue energy was tearing across the ground, and even when he brought his blade up to defend it pushed him back towards the edge of the platform. He swept the Bust Sword into the air, sending the blast into the ceiling. Several more waves came in quick succession, nearly knocking him off the side each time, but he was beginning to recover more quickly…and Sephiroth was in turn apparently getting bored with the "game" he'd devised on the spot.

"You've always impressed me, Zack, but it's time to bring this to an end." He'd placed the Masamune at his waist as if to sheathe it in the nonexistent scabbard, and Zack could already see the familiar signs of his Spirit Energy as the blue glow began to flow around where his hand met the hilt, the impending strike obvious. Yet as some have come to understand over time, however, realizing that someone clearly intended to strike and being able to defend against that obvious strike were two very, very different things. He blocked the first strike. That was simple enough.

It was being flung into the air as a result of blocking the attack that caught him by surprise. It was the feeling of the Masamune repeatedly piercing his arms, legs, and chest that brought him to the realization that he'd never seen Sephiroth fight before. Oh, he'd seen him defeat things, but he'd never seen the man genuinely fighting to destroy his opponent before. Ignoring the pain coursing through his limbs, he adjusted just enough for Sephiroth's downward slash to contact the Buster Sword, sending him crashing back to the platform. He rolled to his feet, leaping back upwards towards the exit of Jenova's chamber as Sephiroth landed, Masamune racing through the air where he'd been just milliseconds earlier. As soon as he landed Zack whirled around, barely able to keep his grip on the blade.

And Sephiroth appeared in front of him, looking no more winded than when they'd begun the battle. This time, Zack wasn't able to keep his footing as the blades made contact. His former mentor's weapon spun through the air, clanging against the ground a few feet from where he'd been standing as Zack was thrown from the room, crashing into one of the experimental pods in the main chamber, the metal caving in with the force of the impact. Through his blurred vision he could make out Sephiroth turning back to the alien being, not even bothering to check in case Zack wasn't completely out of the fight.

All the same, he was. And that was how Cloud found him when he arrived, glancing between Tifa and his friend in shock. He'd always known that Sephiroth had been the most powerful SOLDIER out there, everyone did, but to see Zack in such a horrible state…he'd thought the man was only just short of invulnerable. He clenched his fist and slowly moved towards the chamber at the top of the stairs, reaching it just in time to see Sephiroth ripping something from a large tube. He pulled the Buster Sword from the metal with ease, not even registering the immense weight in his hands through his anger. Gripping it in both hands he ran up to the platform without a sound, and drove the wide blade into the SOLDIER's back.

The man's silence outside of a single grunt was unnerving, even to someone lost in a rage.

"You…"

"Sephiroth, why are you doing this? What about my home, my family, my friends! What about **my** sadness! I looked up to you! You were my hero! Tell me why!"

He remained silent, and Cloud ripped the blade from his back, watching as the man crumbled to his knees. With a disgusted snort he turned away, throwing off his helmet and running from the room and down the stairs to where Tifa lay. She was unconscious, but still seemed to be alive. He set down the blade next to the pod where Zack had crashed and looped his hands behind her knees and back, lifting her and carrying her off to the side and setting her down in a more comfortable position. Maybe Zack had some kind of materia that could help. He just needed to-

That thought process came to an abrupt halt as he heard a pained groan from the entrance to the chamber. He looked up and couldn't help the frightened gasp that escaped at the sight of Sephiroth standing, stumbling slightly but still standing, at the top of the stairs, a bizarre, head-like object in one hand and the Masamune in the other.

"You…are weak. All of you. Your entire miserable, worthless species…nothing but disgusting cowards, content with allowing **my** people to die out while you ran and hid so you wouldn't have to face true fear."

Cloud ran back to Zack's side and retrieved the blade, holding it with both hands as he heard a whisper from his side.

"Cloud…you've got…to finish him."

"Right." He nodded. He could do this! Sephiroth was already weakened, so he just needed to finish the job. He dashed up toward the older man and leapt into the air, swinging the Buster Sword down with a howl.

And it was promptly stopped in its tracks as Sephiroth batted it aside with his own blade, kicking Cloud back into the air as he started to land before ramming the Masamune through his chest.

"Don't press your luck kid!" He hissed before slinging Cloud through the entryway back to the chamber where he'd stabbed him only minutes ago. Sephiroth stumbled after him, the first signs of true rage that Cloud, that anyone had likely ever seen on his face.

"You're out of your league, boy. You should have just stepped aside. I won't be so merciful this time." He walked over to Cloud and lifted his foot, then drove it down against the boy's chest above the wound, his pained cries resounding through the room.

"Your home? Your family? Your friends? Your sadness? My entire **race** is gone because of your ancestors. All that's left of the Cetra are Genesis, Mother, and I. And your kind will no doubt do everything they can to ensure that our shattered remnants of the only family I've ever had are eliminated as well, just as your ancestors allowed us to fade into history." He lifted his foot away and stepped back, then drove the Masamune through his stomach.

"Your kind destroyed my home. Your kind destroyed my family. Your kind killed my friends! And thanks to your kind, I have no more sadness left in me. This isn't about vengeance. As the last of my race, I will make certain that humanity suffers the same fate that it forced upon the Cetra." He lifted Cloud into the air, still impaled on the end of the sword, and held him up over the pit of Mako. "**This** is the justice that my people deserve!"

"This…" _Justice? I never hurt you. Mom, Zack, Tifa, no one in this town has ever hurt you! This isn't justice!_ "…is wrong."

It was barely a whisper, so light that even Sephiroth didn't notice it.

"Do you understand now, Cloud? Only once their tormentors have suffered as they have shall my people be able to have true peace!"

"No…" Sephiroth's eyes narrowed as Cloud lifted his arms away from his sides.

"What was that?"

"You're wrong!" Cloud's hands slammed against the blade, dragging himself forward across the weapon until he could feel his feet touching the ground. Sephiroth could only stare in amazement as Cloud pulled himself forward one last time to gain his footing, and then braced himself before reversing their positions and flinging Sephiroth across the room and into the wall, creating a sizeable dent where the former SOLDIER was now stuck. Sephiroth looked across at him in confusion, his wounds finally beginning to catch up with him. Yet it wasn't enough to miss the green glow in Cloud's eyes, like staring into the Lifestream itself.

"Those eyes! Impossible…" And he was calm once more. "Humph. Nothing will get in my way…"

With that he closed his eyes, allowing himself to fall from his position into the Lifestream below. His own task now completed, Cloud dropped to the floor and fell into darkness, not to awaken again for several years.

* * *

"And…Well, that's really all. After that Shinra did a few experiments on us until we decided to break out, and one thing led to another."

"Waitwaitwait, that's the end of the story!" Yuffie pouted. She'd actually been getting in to things.

"Sorry kid, but that's all there is to it. Unless you guys have anything else to add?" Zack looked between Cloud and Tifa. Cloud shook his head, but Tifa spoke up again.

"I don't remember much else myself. All I know is that after you showed up I passed out, then Master Zangan found me and got me out of there."

Nanaki let out a curious "tsk" as he thought over the situation, and Barret let out a low whistle. He wouldn't have expected the little blond kid to have that kind of fight in him. After a few moments, he asked the question that they were all thinking.

"So…what do we do now?"

* * *

AN: So, how was it? Good? Bad? Meh? As per usual, I love to hear what you guys have to say. Also, yes, there were one or two moments that neither Zack, Cloud, nor Tifa could have known about, but I wanted to give a clearer idea of how Nibelheim went down in this story. So it'd be easier to just assume that if it wasn't a moment that they could know about, they didn't actually mention it in their recounting of the tale.


End file.
